Dried Chicory Root in dog and cat food

Is it OK for dogs and cats?

Dogs

There is no known concern at the amounts studied. Senior dogs fed 1% chicory had more faecal bifidobacteria. A diet with chicory plus mannan-oligosaccharides made stools slightly softer, but they stayed in the desirable range.

Cats

No known concern at low amounts, but no cited study fed dried chicory root itself to cats. The studies used fructans such as oligofructose and inulin. Fibre is not considered an essential nutrient for cats, but their gut bacteria can ferment it. Senior cats given 1% oligofructose, or oligofructose plus inulin, showed no change in stool output or stool score. Oligofructose at 6% of the diet or more changed most faecal measures.

How settled this is: No known concern at the amounts used in complete foods

What dried chicory root is

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a plant, and the EU Catalogue of feed materials lists its roots as a feed material. The catalogue describes chicory roots powder as chopped, dried and ground chicory roots, which may contain up to 1% anticaking agents. It describes inulin as a fructan extracted from chicory roots and some other plants. Oligofructose is made by partly breaking down chicory inulin, and it has its own entries.

Why it is in pet food

Inulin is extracted from chicory roots, and oligofructose is made from chicory inulin. In pet food, dried chicory root is used as a source of fermentable fibre. Researchers have tested chicory in dog diets, and fructans such as inulin and oligofructose in cat diets, to see how they change gut bacteria and the fermentation products in the stool.

What it does in the food

Chicory roots are a source of inulin, a fructan that gut bacteria ferment. In senior dogs, 1% chicory raised faecal bifidobacteria by about 0.4 log units and tended to raise fat digestibility. In cats, 3% oligofructose and 3% or 6% inulin lowered apparent protein digestibility. The authors linked this to more bacterial nitrogen in the faeces. In senior cats, 1% oligofructose plus inulin lowered faecal indole, tyramine and E. coli, and tended to lower bifidobacteria. Both fructan treatments lowered faecal histamine.

Safety and limits

The EU lists chicory roots and chicory roots powder as feed materials, and these entries set no maximum level. In senior dogs, chicory tended to raise neutrophil counts, while total white blood cell counts did not change. In senior cats, 1% added fructans did not change food intake, stool output, stool score or nitrogen retention. Effects on stools depend on the amount. In cats, 6% or 9% oligofructose changed almost all faecal measures, while 3% did not differ significantly from the control. Fibre is not considered an essential nutrient for cats, but the cat's hindgut has a considerable capacity to ferment it.

What depends on the amount and the recipe

Amount matters most. The studies cited used about 1% chicory or fructans, and stool changes in cats appeared at 6–9% oligofructose. Processing matters too. Dried chicory root is the root itself, chopped, dried and ground. Dried chicory pulp is what is left after inulin manufacture, with its soluble carbohydrates partly extracted. Purified fructans also behave differently: in cats, oligofructose seemed to ferment more easily than inulin.

Not the same as

• Inulin (chicory root extract) — A fructan extracted from chicory roots and other plants, not the whole root. The EU lists it as a separate feed material.
• Dried chicory pulp — The by-product of inulin manufacture. Its soluble chicory carbohydrates have been partly extracted.
• Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) — A separate feed material made from beet or cane sugar by an enzymatic process, or from pasture grass. Oligofructose made from chicory inulin has its own entry.

Sources

1. Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1104 amending Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 on the Catalogue of feed materials — EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022. Entries 4.4.1 chicory roots, 4.4.5 dried chicory pulp (soluble carbohydrates partly extracted), 4.4.6 chicory roots powder (chopped, dried, ground; up to 1% anticaking agents), 4.4.9 inulin (a fructan extracted from e.g. chicory roots, Inula helenium or Helianthus tuberosus), 4.4.10–4.4.11 oligofructose by partial hydrolysis of chicory inulin, 13.2.11 fructo-oligosaccharides (sugar beet or cane sugar, or pasture grass). No maximum levels in these entries.
2. Grieshop CM et al. Gastrointestinal and immunological responses of senior dogs to chicory and mannan-oligosaccharides. Archives of Animal Nutrition 58(6):483-93 — Archives of Animal Nutrition (Taylor & Francis), 2004. In senior dogs, 1% chicory raised faecal bifidobacteria by 0.4 log10 cfu/g DM and tended to raise fat digestibility (P = 0.07). Chicory and chicory plus MOS tended to raise neutrophils, and total white blood cell counts were unaffected. Chicory plus MOS raised faecal scores, which stayed in a desirable range (3 to 3.5).
3. Hesta M et al. The effect of oligofructose and inulin on faecal characteristics and nutrient digestibility in healthy cats. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 85:135-41 — Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition (Wiley), 2001. In cats, 6% and 9% oligofructose changed almost all faecal characteristics, and 3% did not differ significantly. In the supplemented groups (3% oligofructose and 3% or 6% inulin), apparent protein digestibility was lower because of more bacterial nitrogen. Oligofructose seemed more easily fermented than inulin.
4. Barry KA et al. Fructan supplementation of senior cats affects stool metabolite concentrations and fecal microbiota concentrations, but not nitrogen partitioning in excreta. J Anim Sci 92(11):4964-71 — Journal of Animal Science (American Society of Animal Science), 2014. In senior cats, 1% oligofructose or oligofructose plus inulin did not change intake, faecal output, score or nitrogen retention. Oligofructose plus inulin lowered indole, tyramine and E. coli and tended to lower bifidobacteria. Both treatments lowered histamine. The lower apparent N digestibility was attributed to colonic microbial protein synthesis.
5. Finet SE et al. Miscanthus grass as a novel functional fiber source in extruded feline diets. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8:668288 — Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021. Dietary fibre is not considered an essential nutrient for cats. The domestic cat, although a strict carnivore, has considerable capacity for hindgut microbial fermentation.

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-15. Definitions are in our own words. This is a reading aid, not veterinary advice: a vet who knows your animal comes first.