Cassia Gum in Dog Food - Dog Nutrition DB

In this blog post, we will explore what cassia gum in dog food is, why it’s used, and whether it’s safe for your furry friend.

Contents

What is Cassia Gum?

Cassia gum is a natural food additive.

It is a storage polysaccharide derived from the ground seed endosperm of Senna tora and Senna obtusifolia, two leguminous weeds growing in tropical climates.

Cassia Gum in dog food Senna obtusifolia — *Senna obtusifolia*

To date, India seems to be the biggest manufacturer of cassia gum powder.

The term cassia gum goes back to the times when these plants were still placed in the botanical genus Cassia.

Why is Cassia Gum in Dog Food?

Cassia gum is a water-soluble sugar that is used as a thickening agent, stabilizer, and gelling agent in canned pet food.

Its purpose is to improve the texture and consistency of products. It is most commonly used in wet dog food.

Cassia gum is a popular alternative to other thickeners like guar gum and xanthan gum because it’s less expensive and easier to source.

Its properties are due to its content in galactomannans, carbohydrates composed of mannose chains with galactose side groups.

The more galactose the better the gelling properties^[2].

With a mannose-to-galactose ratio of about 5:1, cassia gum is a little less soluble compared to other galactomannans like locust bean gum (4:1) or guar gum (2:1).

It can be used in combination with some other gelling agent like xanthan gum or carrageenan to improve their gelling effect.

Is Cassia Gum Ok For Dogs?

Cassia gum is a natural ingredient and is approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as E 499 in pet food.

But approval of this food additive in the US is still pending.

EFSA recommends a maximum content of 15000 mg/kg. This translates to 1.32% in a complete food with 12% moisture^[1].

According to a study published by the European Food Safety Authority in 2017, cassia gum is safe for use in dog food^[1].

It is a skin and respiratory sensitizer and a potential irritant to the skin and eyes of factory workers handling the substance.

But after EFSA evaluated the safety of cassia gum as a feed additive for pets they found no evidence of toxicity or carcinogenicity.

But:

Senna plants contain anthraquinones, substances that have been found to be mutagenic to bacteria and may be harmful to dogs.

The expert panel concluded that only purified ad refined cassia gum in dog food doesn’t pose any significant risks.

And the methods used by cassia gum suppliers to analyze the exact anthraquinone content do not appear to be entirely precise^[3].

For this reason, cassia gum is somewhat of a controversial ingredient since there are safer and better alternatives.

And as with almost all food additives, it’s an ingredient common for processed convenience diets for dogs. But it doesn’t add nutrients or any other benefits for your dog.

What is Cassia Gum?

Why is Cassia Gum in Dog Food?

Is Cassia Gum Ok For Dogs?

Further Reading