Author Description

Objectives: Trans-resveratrol is a natural phenol that has developed wide commercial and scientific interest as a potential therapeutic agent for obesity and other age-related health conditions. In terms of resveratrol metabolism, cats are not able to eliminate resveratrol through glucuronidation. The objectives of the study were to measure the resveratrol concentrations in commercial cat foods and to estimate daily resveratrol intake by a healthy cat from those diets. Methods: Resveratrol content in 52 commercially available canned (n = 25) and kibble (n = 27) cat foods were measured using high performance liquid chromatography analysis. Furthermore, daily resveratrol intake from each diet analyzed was estimated based on the energy requirement of a healthy cat and the calorie content of the food. Results: A variation in resveratrol concentrations among individual cat foods was observed (range; 3.6 - 445.5 ng/g). Similar to resveratrol concentration, estimated daily intake of resveratrol varied significantly among individual cat foods (range; 1.9 - 139.1 [mu]g/day). Overall, kibble diets had significantly higher resveratrol concentrations than canned diets on an as-fed basis (p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in estimated daily intake of resveratrol (p = 0.12) between kibble and canned diets. Conclusions and relevance:: According to a previous report, daily resveratrol intake of 3 mg/day was observed to coincide with signs of lower urinary tract diseases in cats. None of the diets analyzed in this study had resveratrol concentrations that would result in a daily resveratrol intake of greater than 3 mg/day and thus were unlikely to pose risk to adult healthy cats. Further research is required to understand the impact of calorie intake, dietary matrix, digestibility and ingredients on resveratrol bioavailability in cats.