Digestive Health & Digestive Enzymes Ingredients and Nutrients

Digestive Enzyme

7 way blend

An enzyme is a protein molecule that speeds up chemical reactions. Each enzyme has a unique shape that determines its function. One enzyme works on one type of substrate.

High temperature pet food processing techniques that overheat food ingredients or poor diet formulations or ingredient choices can greatly reduce the enzymatic digestion in the small intestine. This can lead to an increase in the overflow of undigested nutrients into the large intestine. This may lead to pathogenic bacteria overgrowth, toxin formation, digestive problems, ingredient allergies and bloat.

Grains (protein and carbohydrate sources) are often added in large amounts and are very difficult for cats and dogs to digest as grains are not naturally a large part of their diet.

Amylase

The enzyme, Amylase has a shape that allows it to wrap around starch(substrate) and cut it up into individual glucose units.

Digestion of starch begins in the mouth for humans, whose saliva contains amylase, dogs do not have any salivary amylase. Dogs and cats digest starches in the small intestine where they use amylase produced in the pancreas to break down starch. As dogs quickly wolf their food down with little if any chewing and did not evolve eating very much grain. Thus this may be the reason for no amylase enzyme in their saliva.

Cats are more of a carnivore than dogs are – dogs produce about 3 times as much digestive amylase enzyme than cats do.

Beta Glucanase Enzyme

The enzyme Beta Glucanase digests fiber which helps remedy digestive problems such as malabsorption.

An important enzyme to add because the cat or dog’s body cannot produce it on its own.

Beta Glucanase helps in the breakdown of plant walls (cellulose), and increases the overall efficiency of binding excess toxins in the intestines for removal.

Beta Glucanase may be beneficial in helping to avoid Candida (yeast infections), bloating,  foul gas and acute food allergies.

Bromelain (Protease)

Bromelain is present in all parts of the pineapple plant (Ananas comosus), but the stem is the most common commercial source, presumably because it is readily available after the fruit has been harvested. Pineapples have had a long tradition as a medicinal plant among the natives of South and Central America.

A popular natural digestive aid due to its ability to digest proteins. It’s used for relief of bloating, gas and other digestive symptoms and as an anti-inflammatory. Bromelain is often used alone or in combination with other enzymes such as lipase, which digests fats, and amylase.

Cellulase

An enzyme complex, produced by fungi and bacteria, capable of decomposing cellulose into small fragments, primarily glucose that can be digested.

Hemicellulase

Hemicellulase is an enzyme that breaks down hemicellulose. Hemicellulose catagorizes a variety of polysaccharides that are more complex than sugars and less complex than cellulose, that are found in plant walls.

Lipase

Lipase is an enzyme necessary for the absorption and digestion of nutrients in the intestines. This digestive enzyme is responsible for breaking down lipids (fats), in particular triglycerides, which are fatty substances in the body that come from fat in the diet. Once broken down into smaller components, triglycerides are more easily absorbed in the intestines. Lipase is primarily produced in the pancreas

In general, lipase digestive enzyme supplementation are thought to help the body absorb food more easily, keeping nutrients at appropriate, healthy levels throughout the body.

Xylanase

Is the name for a class of enzymes which breakdown one of the major components of plant cell walls into digestible glucose.

AGRIMOS® Prebiotic

AGRIMOS® is a specific combination of manno-oligosaccharides (MOS) and glucose (ß-glucans) extracted from the yeast cell walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

MOS are natural oligosaccharides, composed of various mannose chains, that block pathogen colonization within the digestive tract of the animal.

ß-glucans, essential components of yeast cell walls, are particularly important to support the non-specific immune system of the animal.

Herb & Spice Oils

A proprietary blend of herb and spice oils that act as both a flavor enhancer and provides a natural boost to overall digestion and digestive health

Yucca schidigera Extract

Yucca schidigera is a natural product from ingredients extracted from the desert yucca plant. Research has shown that a reduction in ammonia and other harmful gasses associated with dog fecal excretions. University clinical trials have reported that a 30 to 50% reduction of ammonia and other noxious gases.