Quantitative determination of Allicin in commercially available garlic-containing feedingstuff of dogs & comparison with toxic doses

The use of six different, commercially available garlic containing feed materials and supplement feed of dogs were evaluated and discussed concerning possible benefits (against gastrointestinal parasites and ticks) and harmful effects.

Quantitative analysis of Allicin content by means of HPLC (Tab. 1) showed quite good quality of three tested products (“Anibio” garlic powder, “PerNaturam” and “Lunderland” both garlic granules). Levels as high as in Ph. Eur. 8 required for garlic powder (Allii sativi bulbi pulvis: at least 0.45% Allicin in dried material for pharmaceutical use) were achieved – although these products are feedingstuff and not herbal remedies. Three other products contained a smaller amount of garlic and therefore also a lower level of Allicin.

Various data and recommendations from feed industry have been compared with recommended doses of veterinary practice (unfortunately scientific literature about dose rates is lacking). However, health hazards for dogs can be excluded in these dosages because toxic thresholds (5 g fresh garlic/kg body mass dog/day for seven days [1] – this is equal to 1.25 g dried garlic) are not reached in dogs.

Reported efficacy for prophylaxis and treatment of endoparasitosis and tick infestation with garlic powder in folk medicine is not scientifically proven in-vivo in dogs and could not be confirmed so far – further studies are required.

Tab. 1: Content of garlic (Allium sativum) and Allicin in different feedingstuff of dogs, including fresh garlic and garlic spice granulate (HPLC, triple determination).

Product	Content Allium sativum	Mean value Allicin in %
Anibio Pulver	100%	0.55
PerNaturam Granulat	100%	0.52
Lunderland Granulat	100%	0.46
Grau Tabletten	95%	0.28
Canina Pulver	13%	0.06
Trixie Granulat	5%	determination influenced by adjuvants, exact specification not possible
Garlic fresh	100%	0.52
Garlic spice granulate	100%	0.66