Macromolecule comparison of dog treats

Supporting files

The purpose of this project was to compare the amount of macromolecules that would be absorbed from four different flour based dog biscuits (soy, sorghum, wheat, and brown rice), and determine which base would benefit dogs the most. It was believed that the soy flour based dog biscuits will have a higher digestibility rate and more nutritional absorbency due to the fact of soy flour having the highest amount of protein, as stated by the labels of the flour. The four biscuit types were tested for different macromolecules (starch, complex and simple sugars, protein, and calories) using the Iodine, Benedict’s, Bradford, and Calorimeter tests after digestion. The Iodine test was used to determine the presence of starch; the Benedict’s test was used to determine the presence of simple sugars; the Bradford test was used to determine the absorbance of protein, which could then be interpolated on the standard curve graph to determine concentration levels, and the Calorimeter test was used to calculate how many calories are contained in one gram.

The data concluded that compared to the other flour bases, the soy flour based biscuits had the best overall nutritional absorbency readings with the highest Benedict’s test and the lowest amount of calories calculated by the Calorimeter test. The experiment did support the hypothesis. These results were expected due to the fact of soybeans being a complete protein as well as a main source for other vitamins and minerals, thus transferring into having the most nutritious flour source based off the label. The importance of the project was to learn which flour source would be the most beneficial to dogs as well as being the most cost effective alternative for pet owners.