Pyruvate Compositions for Companion Animal Joint Health

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Solution Overview

Problem

Companion animals suffer from degenerative joint conditions such as osteoarthritis and cartilage damage, leading to reduced joint flexibility, inflammation, and pain, for which current dietary solutions lack effective therapeutic and prophylactic options with enhanced palatability.

Innovation Solution

Edible compositions containing pyruvate, which are nutritionally complete and include pyruvate in amounts effective to prevent, ameliorate, or treat degenerative joint conditions, thereby improving palatability and providing clinically beneficial properties for companion animals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If current dietary solutions are used for companion animals with degenerative joint conditions, then basic nutritional needs are met, but therapeutic effectiveness and palatability are insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetherapeutic effectivenessVSAvoidpalatability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple active ingredients (pyruvate, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM) into a composite dietary composition that delivers both therapeutic effectiveness for degenerative joint conditions and enhanced palatability through synergistic interactions between components, resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

The patent optimizes the concentration parameters of key ingredients, specifically incorporating pyruvate at levels that provide both therapeutic benefit for joint health and palatability enhancement, thereby simultaneously improving reliability and ease of operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of operation

If pyruvate is added to edible compositions for companion animals, then palatability is enhanced, but formulation complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovepalatabilityVSAvoidformulation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Pyruvate serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a palatability enhancer, provides therapeutic benefits for degenerative joint conditions, and contributes to overall nutritional balance, thereby improving palatability without proportionally increasing formulation complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent merges pyruvate with other joint-supporting ingredients (glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, MSM) into a single integrated dietary composition, consolidating multiple benefits into one formulation that enhances palatability while managing complexity through unified design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2519115B1Compositions including pyruvate for companion animals and methods of use thereof
Publication Date: 2017.02.15 HILLS PET NUTRITION INC
  • EP2519115B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2519115B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2519115B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention encompasses compositions and methods for treating or preventing a degenerative joint condition, wherein the compositions and methods include feeding the companion animal an edible composition including at least one pyruvate or salt therof. The invention also encompasses methods for enhancing the palatability of an edible food composition including adding a palatability enhancing amount at least one pyruvate or salt thereof to the composition.