Beet and cane molasses are produced worldwide as a by-product of sugar extraction and are widely used in animal nutrition. Due to their composition, they are fed to ruminants as an energy source. However, molasses has not been properly characterized in the literature; its description has been limited to the type (sugarcane or beet) or to the amount of dry matter (DM), total or water-soluble sugars, crude protein, and ash. Our objective was to better characterize the composition of cane and beet molasses, examine possible differences, and obtain a proper definition of such feeds. For this purpose, 16 cane and 16 beet molasses samples were sourced worldwide and analyzed for chemical composition. The chemical analysis used in this trial characterized 97.4 and 98.3% of the compounds in the DM of cane and beet molasses, respectively. Cane molasses contained less DM compared with beet molasses (76.8 ± 1.02 vs. 78.3 ± 1.61%) as well as crude protein content (6.7 ± 1.8 vs. 13.5 ± 1.4% of DM), with a minimum value of 2.2% of DM in cane molasses and a maximum of 15.6% of DM in beet molasses. The amount of sucrose differed between beet and cane molasses (60.9 ± 4.4 vs. 48.8 ± 6.4% of DM), but variability was high even within cane molasses (39.2-67.3% of DM) and beet molasses. Glucose and fructose were detected in cane molasses (5.3 ± 2.7 and 8.1 ± 2.8% of DM, respectively), showing high variability. Organic acid composition differed as well. Lactic acid was more concentrated in cane molasses than in beet molasses (6.1 ± 2.8 vs. 4.5 ± 1.8% of DM), varying from 1.6 to 12.8% of DM in cane molasses. Dietary cation-anion difference showed numerical differences among cane and beet molasses (7 ± 53 vs. 66 ± 45 mEq/100 g of DM, on average). It varied from −76 to +155 mEq/100 g of DM in the cane group and from +0 to +162 mEq/100 g of DM in the beet group. Data obtained in this study detailed differences in composition between sources of molasses and suggested that a more complete characterization could improve the use of molasses in ration formulation.

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Dogs with acute diarrhea are often presented to clinical practice and, although this generally represents a self-limiting condition, antibiotics are still frequently used as treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects in dogs with acute non-hemorrhagic diarrhea of the administration of an antibiotic combination in comparison to a nutraceutical product. Thirty dogs were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups: 15 dogs (group A) received a nutraceutical commercial product while 15 dogs (group B) received an antimicrobial combination of metronidazole and spiramycin. For each dog, the Canine Acute Diarrhea Severity Index, the fecal microbiota and the Dysbiosis Index were assessed. Both stool consistency and frequency decreased on day 2 in the dogs of group A compared to baseline, while in group B, these parameters significantly decreased at days 3 and 4. The global concern for rising antibiotic resistance associated with indiscriminate use of antimicrobials, in both humans and animals, suggests the necessity of avoiding empirical and injudicious use of these molecules in diarrheic dogs. These results suggest that the nutraceutical treatment had a similar clinical effect compared to the antibiotic formulation, representing a valid antibiotic-sparing therapeutic approach in canine acute diarrhea.