Active Ingredient vs. Product Research in Equine Nutraceuticals

It is no secret that equine dietary supplements are a hot topic! This past weekend at the Can-Am Equine Expo one of my seminars focused on dietary supplements and how horse owners can critically evaluate the research behind the products they are purchasing. One of the concepts that was covered was the difference between active ingredient research and product research. Understanding the difference between these two types of research when purchasing supplements is truly critical.

When we discuss dietary supplements, it is important to start with a clear definition. A dietary supplement is defined as a product that is meant to provide a health benefit but does not fill a nutritional requirement (e.g., joint supplements, herbal remedies, probiotics etc.).

Now, unfortunately, there is no governing body that is focused on equine nutraceuticals, it is simply monitored by the FDA – however, horses are not their top priority. On supplement packaging, function claims can be made, but drug claims cannot be. An example of a function claim would be to support, maintain, promote, whereas a drug claim would use terms such as cure, treat and mitigate.

To put an equine supplement on the market, there is no requirement for research to be done on that product. Therefore, you are essentially using your horse as a guinea pig. If you want to avoid this, understanding the various types of research and reaching out to the supplement companies to ask about their research is a great start to avoid wasting money on ineffective products that are not backed by research.

Active Ingredient Research

Equine research is costly, and many companies unfortunately do not make it a priority. Therefore, when you are reading about the potential benefits of a nutraceutical product it will often be based on active ingredient research.

Active ingredient research is the study of specific compounds or substances that are thought to have a health benefit. The research may be in vitro or in vivo and could be in horses but is more frequently in other species such as rats, pigs, or cows. This type of research can provide some information on how that specific ingredient may impact our horses; however, we are often extrapolating quite a bit from what the data states.

For example, the 1998 study on biotin published in the Equine Veterinary Journal (Effect of supplementary biotin on hoof growth rate in ponies: a controlled trial) was specifically looking at the active ingredient biotin. They supplemented at a rate of 60 mg of biotin/day (for the average sized horse) and found a statistically significant difference in hoof growth rate. However, if you go shopping for a hoof supplement, you will find that most of them contain a lot more than biotin – therefore, there is research on the active ingredient, but there may not be specific equine studies on that product formulation.

Another example of active ingredient research in horses is a 2002 study that was published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research (Serum concentrations of keratan sulfate, osteocalcin, and pyridinoline crosslinks after oral administration of glucosamine to Standardbred horses during race training). Glucosamine was supplemented to 20 Standardbreds and there was no detectable influence on the serum concentration of their 3 markers. If you feed a joint supplement, glucosamine is likely one of the active ingredients, however, there are probably other active ingredients being fed in that formulated joint supplement.

Overall, active ingredient research is important, and is key to understanding biological mechanisms, however, ideally, we want to provide our horses with supplements that have product research on them.

Product Research

Product research is when the overall formulation (combination of ingredients) is evaluated for efficacy. This research can also be done both in vitro or in vivo. This type of research is preferable as we typically do not have to extrapolate as significantly. For example, taking a claim from a study done on glucosamine, and then applying that to a supplement that is a blend of multiple ingredients is not as reliable as research claims from publications that have been on that specific formulation.

This study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science in 2020 (Investigation of the effects of a dietary supplement on insulin and adipokine concentrations in equine metabolic syndrome/insulin dysregulation), is an example of product research. The product supplemented in this paper is the KPP InsulinWise which is a blend of resveratrol and various amino acids. It was fed for a 6-week trial period, and the authors concluded that it had a positive effect on weight loss and blood insulin.

Another example of product research is a 2007 study published in the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research on Herbs for Horses Breathe (Pilot study investigating the ability of an herbal composite to alleviate clinical signs of respiratory dysfunction in horses with recurrent airway obstruction). This product is a herbal composite containing garlic, white horehound, boneset, aniseed, fennel, licorice, thyme, and hyssop. The treatment with the product did not result in statistically significant changes in the parameters evaluated but there was a trend of decreased respiratory rate. The authors concluded that the results indicated a potential for the product to reduce the elevated respiratory rate in horses with recurrent airway obstruction, however further research with a greater number of horses is warranted.

To conclude, when you are shopping for potential supplements for your horse, invest the additional time in reaching out to inquire about if product research has been done. Most companies that are investing in quality research will be eager to share it!

By: Madeline Boast, MSc. Equine Nutrition

References:

Caron, J. P., Peters, T. L., Hauptman, J. G., Eberhart, S. W., & Orth, M. W. (2002). Serum concentrations of keratan sulfate, osteocalcin, and pyridinoline crosslinks after oral administration of glucosamine to standardbred horses during race training. American journal of veterinary research, 63(8), 1106-1110.

Manfredi, J. M., Stapley, E. D., Nadeau, J. A., & Nash, D. (2020). Investigation of the effects of a dietary supplement on insulin and adipokine concentrations in equine metabolic syndrome/insulin dysregulation. Journal of equine veterinary science, 88, 102930.

Pearson, W., Charch, A., Brewer, D., & Clarke, A. F. (2007). Pilot study investigating the ability of an herbal composite to alleviate clinical signs of respiratory dysfunction in horses with recurrent airway obstruction. Canadian journal of veterinary research, 71(2), 145.

Reilly, J. D., Cottrell, D. F., Martin, R. J., & Cuddeford, D. J. (1998). Effect of supplementary dietary biotin on hoof growth and hoof growth rate in ponies: a controlled trial. Equine Veterinary Journal, 30(S26), 51-57.