Sugar Substitutes and Safety

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We all know xylitol is bad for animals (specifically dogs and probably others).

Off hand, does anyone know whether erythritol is dangerous for animals, too?

It is another no-calorie sweetner that has no effect on glycemic index.
"In the body, erythritol is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine, and then for the most part excreted unchanged in the urine. Because erythritol is normally absorbed before it enters the large intestine, it does not normally cause laxative effects as are often experienced after over-consumption of other sugar alcohols and most people will consume erythritol with no side effects. This is unique, as other sugar alcohols are not absorbed directly by the body in this manner. " (thefreelibrary.com)

It is often used as the main ingredient in a popular sweetener Rakanto where the second ingredient is the extract if the Asian fruit Rakan (Scientific name: Siraitia grosvenori, Chinese name: Luo Han Guo). It is interesting to note that Siraitia grosvenori has also shown anticarcinogenic activity. And although it is not a common problem with ferrets, a recent paper also points to an "antidiabetic effect of long-term supplementation".

However, why compare xylitol to erythritol?

Although the chemical makeup is different from xylitol - xylitol is C5 H12 O5 and erythritol is C4 H10 O4 - BOTH xylitol and erythritol fall into the category of "sugar alcohols". Because of that, even though liver toxicity in dogs is occurs because they don't have the liver enzymes necessary to deal with xylitol, I wonder whether xylitol and erythritol might share some of the same properties in terms of safety?

UPDATE @ FerretKnots

Disclaimer: I am not a DVM. Advice is offered after my own extensive research and/or experience and should be undertaken at your own risk. Consult with your licensed DVM before undertaking any treatment!

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Chinese Medicine & Dosing: one example

UPDATES on Ferret Food Recalls
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I am very excited to share this with you all. As I mentioned to the site owner, even in Japan where TCM and Kanpou (Chinese herbal medicine) have a long traditional history and strong scientific background, most applications of it in animals have focused on cats and dogs.

From Four Paws Five Directions, the most advice one gets about dosing herbal medicine is "for small-sized dogs and cats use 1/3 or less of a 10 gram human dose." (translated from Japanese by M. Diamantis) How did that number get decided upon? Cheryl Schwartz, DVM judges a large dog to be about the same weight as a human (60 kg) and thus able to handle a full human dosage of 10 grams. Thus a "large" dog would get the full 10 grams spread out over 3 times a day, or about 3 1/3 grams per serving. A "medium sized" would get half a human dosage (5 grams), again spread out over 3 times.

I dislike vagueness in dealing with medicine. I think we all do. What constitutes a "small" or a "medium sized animal? Where is the cutoff for "small". Ferrets would likely be classified as "extra-small" to "tiny" size, wouldn't they? What does that mean for them?

What I am finally happy to share with you is this bit of information from the all-about-ferrets blog:
"according to the specialist, Kaos is suffering from 'blood stagnation' in Traditional Chinese Medicine...
Initially I have to give her an eighth of a 1ml spoon every other day for a week, for her to get used to the herbs, and then give them to her on a daily basis."

So now we have a baseline to work from taking into consideration the following patient specific information.

Kaos (patient):
weight:
age:
diagnosis: cardiomyopathy

As more general information about her case becomes available I will certainly integrate it with the information here.



Disclaimer: I am not a DVM. Advice is offered after my own extensive research and/or experience and should be undertaken at your own risk. Consult with your licensed DVM before undertaking any treatment!

No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means -- electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise -- without the written permission of the copyright owner. All copyrights of their respective owners.

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