Dogs receiving a daily supplement of Isulsongi mushroom, a shiitake cultivar developed in Korea, showed changes in blood cholesterol during a nine-week study.
According to research results published in the Korean Journal of Agricultural Science, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased significantly in both adult and senior Maltese dogs receiving the mushroom powder. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in both groups. However, the experiment included only 10 dogs and no unsupplemented control group.
Eun-Gyeom Jung of Kyungnam College of Information & Technology and Soon Hwangbo of Daegu University conducted the experiment using Isulsongi mushroom (Lentinula edodes GNA01). The researchers examined whether blood lipid responses differed between younger and older dogs.
Five adult dogs averaged 42 months old, while five senior dogs averaged 106 months. All had normal body condition scores and no signs of obesity or disease.
Each dog received 150 milligrams of freeze-dried mushroom powder per kilogram of body weight daily for nine weeks. The researchers diluted the powder in water and administered it orally after the evening feeding. Dogs also received a commercial extruded diet. Blood samples were collected before supplementation and at three, six and nine weeks.
Total cholesterol decreased from 212.35 to 180.94 milligrams per deciliter in adult dogs and from 227.41 to 188.63 milligrams per deciliter in senior dogs.
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol declined from 126.10 to 75.43 milligrams per deciliter in adults and from 124.80 to 72.24 milligrams per deciliter in seniors. Meanwhile, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased from 69.22 to 90.89 milligrams per deciliter in adults and from 82.89 to 98.11 milligrams per deciliter in seniors.
Triglyceride responses differed between the groups. Adult dogs showed a statistically significant decrease, from 84.79 to 73.11 milligrams per deciliter. Senior dogs’ triglycerides declined from 98.55 to 91.39 milligrams per deciliter, but that change was not statistically significant.
The researchers also reported decreases in two calculated cholesterol ratios described in the paper as the atherogenic index and cardiac risk factor. However, the experiment measured blood markers rather than cardiovascular disease outcomes.
The absence of an unsupplemented control group limits conclusions about whether the mushroom caused the observed changes. Differences between the age groups also require further investigation before they can support age-specific formulations.
“However, this study had limitations due to the small sample size and the use of a single breed, making it difficult to generalize the results,” the authors wrote.
