**8. Conclusions and future**

As described by different authors, *Miscanthus x giganteus* is a perennial with great potential to be cultivated in cold climates and has good biomass yields. From this crop, Miscanthus grass is produced by simply grinding the dried canes into a powder. This fibrous food ingredient is mostly composed of insoluble fibers with appreciable amounts of lignin, has poor flowability properties, which could bring challenges to a food production facility. Miscanthus grass has been evaluated as a fiber source for dogs, cats, and chicks. There are some benefits to its use through improved chick performance and feed energy utilization. For dogs and cats, it could be used in weight control diets and in hairball management cat foods. Like other fibers, during processing it decreased the expansion of extruded pet foods which may require minor process modifications to effectively achieve product specifications. Based on these findings Miscanthus grass is one of the first forage grasses that have been evaluated as a viable form of supplemental fiber for monogastric animal diets. Whether it will serve a similar purpose in human diets remains to be evaluated, but the potential exists that it might be a viable alternative compared to other fibers currently utilized in the market. What the future holds for Miscanthus grass is uncertain; however, more research is needed to better understand the potential this crop has since its widespread use in animal and human foods could aid in improving health through diet energy dilution, hairball management, and weight management and thereby improve health and wellbeing of animals and people through a well-established and structured supply chain.
