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Review
. 2022 Aug 16;12(16):2089.
doi: 10.3390/ani12162089.

Essential Oils and Melatonin as Functional Ingredients in Dogs

Domingo Ruiz-Cano  1 , Ginés Sánchez-Carrasco  1 , Amina El-Mihyaoui  2 , Marino B Arnao  2
Affiliations
Review

Essential Oils and Melatonin as Functional Ingredients in Dogs

Domingo Ruiz-Cano et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The use of nutraceuticals or functional ingredients is increasingly widespread in human food; their use is also widespread in animal feed. These natural compounds generally come from plant materials and comprise a wide range of substances of a very diverse chemical nature. In animals, these compounds, so-called phytogenics, are used to obtain improvements in feed production/stability and also as functional components with repercussions on animal health. Along with polyphenols, isoprenoid compounds represent a family of substances with wide applications in therapy and pet nutrition. Essential oils (EOs) are a group of complex substances with fat-soluble nature that are widely used. Melatonin is an indolic amine present in all living with amphiphilic nature. In this work, we present a review of the most relevant phytogenics (polyphenol, isoprenoid, and alkaloid compounds), their characteristics, and possible uses as nutraceuticals in dogs, with special emphasis on EOs and their regulatory aspects, applied in foods and topically. Additionally, a presentation of the importance of the use of melatonin in dogs is developed, giving physiological and practical aspects about its use in dog feeding and also in topical application, with examples and future projections. This review points to the combination of EOs and melatonin in food supplements and in the topical application as an innovative product and shows excellent perspectives aimed at addressing dysfunctions in pets, such as the treatment of stress and anxiety, sleep disorders, alopecia, and hair growth problems, among others.

Keywords: dogs; essential oils; functional ingredients; improved health; melatonin; nutraceuticals; pet food; phytogenics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular structures of some EO components.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Roles of melatonin in mammals at cellular/physiological level. Their use in several disorders is shown in green color.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photographs of different areas of the animal showing different affectations before the treatment (photos on the left) and 24 days after the treatment with 11 topical applications (photos on the right).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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