Lecturer The University of the West Indies School of Veterinary Medicine Hull, Georgia, United States
Disclosure(s):
Siobhan Bridglalsingh, DVM, MHEd., PhD, DACVIM (Nutrition): No financial relationships to disclose
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), both endogenous and dietary sources, accumulate to form the AGE pool or total AGE burden on the body. This AGE burden overwhelms the homeostatic mechanisms of metabolism and elimination so AGEs binds to proteins, potentiates oxidative stress or binds to cell surface specific receptors to cause sustained and persistent inflammation and tissue degeneration. The effects of high AGE burden have been extensively studied in diabetes mellitus type II, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and neurodegenerative disease in human beings. Management of patients with these diseases has included mitigation of AGEs via a multifaceted approach to decrease precursors, alter food processing conditions and addition of exogenous compounds with natural antioxidant activity. Exogenous compounds can inhibit AGE formation or break AGE binding to prevent their toxic effects in cells. The clinical efficacy of these exogenous substances whether natural or pharmaceutical is inconclusive but reducing dietary (dAGE) intake remains the mainstay of nutrition support for human patients. In human nutrition, as knowledge of the toxic effect of AGEs on tissues grows, there is current reconsideration of processing methods for some foods with a view to decrease the dAGE content. There is similarity between processing conditions for traditional pet foods and ultra-processed human foods. It is likely that high dAGE content of pet foods may contribute to disease/complications in genetically susceptible, older or chronically ill patients. Data on AGEs in pet foods and their effect on health and disease of companion animals is scarce when compared with that for human beings. Further investigation into pet food dAGE concentration, total AGE burden and association with disease is needed to determine if AGE toxicity is a clinical concern in companion animal medicine that warrants similar approaches to mitigation of AGEs.
Learning Objectives:
Describe the pathphysiological effects of advanced glycation end products
List three components of mitigation of advanced glycation end products
List inhibitors and breakers of advanced glycation end products
Describe the similarities in processing conditions between ultra-processed human foods and traditionally processed pet foods that may contribute to high advanced glycation end product concentration in pet foods
