Tyrosine supplementation and hair coat pigmentation in puppies with black coats – A pilot study

Summary

The appearance of a red hue to the hair in black coated cats and dogs has previously been reported as a “red hair syndrome”. Such changes in hair colour are related to an alteration in the proportions of two types of pigments produced by melanocytes; black eumelanin and brown pheomelanin. In black cats, it has been demonstrated that higher levels of phenylalanine + tyrosine (Phe+Tyr) than those recommended for growth are required to support eumelanin synthesis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a similar observation could be made in dogs. Twelve black coated puppies (Black Labrador retrievers and Newfoundlands) were divided into 3 groups of 4 and fed 3 diets with increasing concentrations of Phe+Tyr (A: 4 g/Mcal; B: 5.8 g/Mcal; C: 7 g/Mcal) for a period of 6 months. Quantification of plasma amino acids (Phe, Tyr, Cys) and spectrocolourimetry of hair samples from the Labrador retrievers (as the a* dimension of CIE Lab system) were performed at the beginning, during and at the end of the study. There was a significant negative linear relationship between plasma Tyr levels and a* values of hair in Labrador dogs on diets A and B, suggesting that a diet with total Phe+Tyr content of 6 g/Mcal (higher than the growth recommended allowance) was necessary to ensure an optimal black coat colour in these puppies and that levels up to 7 g/Mcal can lead to a more intense black coat colour. Moreover, similar to what was found in kittens, plasma levels of Tyr up to 54 μmol/l did not guarantee an optimal black colour coat and led to the “reddish hair” appearance in black coated puppies.