PSVI-33 - Undenatured type II collagen mitigates inflammation and cartilage degeneration in healthy untrained Labrador retrievers after exercise

Exercise can cause microtrauma in the tissue and joints of dogs, resulting in a cycle of inflammation and discomfort even in healthy dogs. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of undenatured type II collagen supplemented on inflammation and cartilage degeneration after exercise in untrained, healthy dogs. In this experiment, 40 healthy Labrador retrievers (20m/20f; Range-5-12yrs; Avg-8yrs) were sorted into two groups: undenatured type II collagen group receiving 40mg UC-II® (10mg Collagen Type II/Min. 3% Undenatured Type II Collagen; Lonza Consumer Health, Inc.) and placebo (P) group receiving 40mg maltodextrin daily by capsule. After 2wks supplement loading, all dogs performed a 4.66 ± 0.34km endurance run. Blood was collected at baseline, 1h pre-run, and 24h post-run for hematology/biomarkers including interleukin-6 (IL-6) as an inflammatory marker and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) as a cartilage degeneration marker. Undenatured type II collagen supplemented dogs had significantly lower IL-6 vs P at post-run (p< 0.01), as well as significant decreases from pre to post-run (P = 0.03), vs P with no significant change (P = 0.16). COMP was significantly lower in undenatured type II collagen supplemented dogs at 24h post-run compared to pre-run (P = 0.02), with P dogs having no significant differences between timepoints (P = 0.24). At both 1h pre- and 24h post-run undenatured type II collagen supplemented dogs had no significant increases in neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR; inflammatory marker), but P dogs had significantly higher NLR compared to baseline (P = 0.01). NLR was also significantly lower in undenatured type II collagen supplemented dogs compared to P dogs at pre-run (P < 0.01). Undenatured type II collagen supplemented dogs showed significantly lower white blood cell counts after supplementation compared to P dogs (P < 0.05) (Table 1). In summary, untrained Labrador retrievers supplemented with undenatured type II collagen had decreased inflammation and cartilage degeneration compared to non-supplemented dogs after exercise.