Future Pet Food Technology: A Nutritional Revolution Starting from the Gut!

Is Your Pet Really Eating Right?

You carefully select pet food every day, yet still worry about your furry friend’s nutrition and digestion? Scientific research reveals that it’s not just what they eat, but how much they can digest that truly matters. Today, we’ll take you behind the scenes of pet food research and development, where a ground breaking technology—Simulated Digestion System (SDS III) for Monogastric Animals—is redefining the true standard of “good nutrition.”

Nutrition ≠ Digestion: You’re Missing a Crucial Step

You meticulously study nutrition labels, with terms like DHA, EPA, taurine, and prebiotics. But do you think that once these nutrients enter your pet’s body, everything is fine?

Wrong! For pets, digestion rate is the core factor determining whether nutrients actually take effect.

Take the commonly used fish oil as an example. It’s rich in Omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA, which are beneficial for pets’ coat shine, joint health, and anti-inflammatory protection. However, if your pet can’t digest these nutrients effectively, even the best ones will just be “casually” excreted. Scientific data shows that the actual bioavailability of active ingredients in fish oil may be much lower than you imagine.

Research indicates that when relying solely on fish oil to supplement DHA and EPA, some components are lost during digestion, limiting the digestion rate.

⚠ Poor digestion not only wastes nutrients but may also burden your pet’s gastrointestinal system!

Key Breakthrough: Adding Krill Oil Boosts Digestion Rate!

Krill oil, with its natural phospholipid structure, is hailed as the “nutrient express train.” The biggest difference between krill oil and traditional fish oil is that it’s rich in phospholipids, which significantly enhance the water solubility and bioavailability of Omega-3 fatty acids. In simpler terms, it allows nutrients to “take a high-speed train,” entering intestinal cells and being absorbed more quickly.

Data from digestion rate experiments conducted by the simulated digestion system (SDS III) of the National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Innovation’s pet R&D team shows:

• The digestion rate of EPA from fish oil alone is approximately 54.53%, and DHA is about 49.83%.
• After adding a certain proportion of krill oil, the digestion rate of EPA increases to about 72.60%, and DHA to about 68.50%.

Biomimetic digestibility of EPA and DHA under different proportion of krill oil content

Core Technology Unveiled—Simulated Digestion System for Monogastric Animals, Revolutionizing Your Understanding!

If “absorption rate” is the yardstick for measuring nutritional effectiveness, then the “Simulated Digestion System” is the precision calibration tool!

What is a Simulated Digestion System?

The pet R&D team of the National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Innovation has developed a Simulated Digestion System (SDS III) for Monogastric Animals to study the gastrointestinal digestion process in dogs. This in vitro bionic digestive system simulates the entire digestive process of dogs, from gastric acid decomposition, bile emulsification to intestinal digestion, functioning like a “man-made dog gut.” It’s precise, stable, and controllable. Unlike traditional animal experiments, it doesn’t require a single experimental dog but allows a clear view of the “journey” of pet food inside the body.

Fish oil in vitro digestibility determination process

By simulating the dog’s physiological digestion process through three continuous enzymatic hydrolysis stages (stomach, small intestine, large intestine), the system precisely controls temperature, pH gradient, and peristalsis frequency. It uses pepsin, pancreatic enzyme complex (containing pancreatic lipase, pancreatic protease, and bile salts) to digest the fatty acids in the fish oil and krill oil mixture. After digestion, the products are frozen with liquid nitrogen, freeze-dried, and then analyzed for EPA and DHA content using gas chromatography with internal standard correction to calculate the bionic fish oil digestion rate.

Simulated Digestion System for Monogastric Animals

Operating Page of Simulated Digestion System for Monogastric Animals

Traditional animal experiments are costly, time-consuming, and raise ethical concerns and individual biological differences. In contrast, the simulated digestion system, with standardized parameters, repeatable verification, and real-time adjustability, significantly improves R&D efficiency. Compared to traditional animal experiments, this method has three major advantages:

1. No animal sacrifice needed, more ethical;
2. High repeatability, enhancing R&D efficiency;
3. Detailed observation of digestive changes at each step;

The Future is Here, Scientific Nutrition Selection is Imperative!

With the rise of the pet economy, consumers no longer settle for pets just eating enough or well, but aim for “eating scientifically.”

1. High Digestibility: Look beyond content, focus on how much can be digested
2. Personalized Nutrition: Precise customization for different breeds, sizes, and ages
3. Functional Formulas: Emergence of segmented products for low-fat, intestinal, kidney, weight loss, etc.
4. Bionic Evaluation Systems: Replacing animal experiments as the new industry standard
5. Data-Driven R&D: Accelerating new formula screening with AI and in vitro experiments

Simulated Digestion System (SDS III) for Monogastric Animals

The pet R&D team of the National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Innovation is the technological engine connecting these five trends. We are working hard to make it happen!

What Can You Do?

We invite you to join us in redefining the “digestive science” of pet nutrition.

Next time you buy pet nutrition products, consider:

• Is there a clear ingredient list?
• Is there in vitro digestive model support?
• Is there scientific data backing?

Choose nutrition scientifically, make your pet healthier!