Isabella Corsato Alvarenga

Title

Pet health technical manager

Company

International Flavors and Fragrances

Presentation description:

Mild extrusion process yields higher resistant starch that improves gut health of dogs — Corsato Alvarenga, Ph.D., shares results of a study assessing the effect of thermomechanical energy on resistant starch yield in final pet foods and subsequent effects on the gut health of dogs. The study involved processing the same dog food recipe with high corn inclusion through single-screw extrusion, using three levels of thermomechanical energy controlled by extruder shaft speed and in-barrel moisture. Resistant starches bypass digestion in the small intestine and reach the colon, where they become substrate for saccharolytic bacteria fermentation with subsequent production of beneficial postbiotics.

Experience:

Isabella Corsato Alvarenga, Ph.D., is the pet health technical manager at International Flavors and Fragrances. She holds a DVM from University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and earned both her master’s degree and doctorate in grain science with a pet food science focus at Kansas State University, under the mentorship of Dr. Greg Aldrich. Alvarenga’s Ph.D. research project was on processing the same corn-based dog food recipe with three levels of thermomechanical energy and assessing their impact on dog gut health, resulting in two articles that were published in peer-reviewed journals.