Thirty-four senior dogs (pointers 8-11 years, beagles 9-11 years) were used to evaluate the effects of oligosaccharides on nutritional and immunological characteristics. Dogs were randomly allotted to treatments [1% chicory (CH), 1% mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS), 1% chicory + 1% MOS (CM), or no supplementation (control, CON)] in a parallel design with a 4 week baseline period followed by a 4 week treatment period. Dietary supplementation with MOS or CM tended (P = 0.07) to increase food intake due, in part, to an increase in fermentable fibre and a decrease in energy content of the diet. Although wet faecal output increased (P < 0.05) for dogs supplemented with MOS or CM, when corrected for food intake, no differences were noted. The CM treatment increased (P < 0.05) faecal score (1 = hard and dry, 5 = watery liquid), although these scores remained in a desirable range (3 to 3.5). Chicory supplementation increased (P = 0.07) fat digestibility. Chicory or MOS increased (P < or = 0.05) faecal bifidobacteria concentrations 0.4 and 0.5 log10 cfu/g DM, respectively, compared to the CON, while MOS decreased (P < 0.05) faecal E. coli concentrations. Oligosaccharides did not affect white blood cell (WBC) concentrations, but CH and CM tended to increase (P = 0.10) neutrophil concentrations compared to control dogs. Peripheral lymphocyte concentrations were decreased in dogs supplemented with MOS (P = 0.06) and CM (P < 0.05). Chicory and MOS alter faecal microbial populations and certain indices of the immune system of senior dogs.

This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of selected soybean (SB) processing byproducts (gums, oil, soapstock, weeds/trash) when added back to soybean meal (SBM) during processing on the resulting nutrient composition, protein quality, nutrient digestibility by swine, and true metabolizable energy (TMEn) content and standardized AA digestibility by poultry. To measure ileal DM and nutrient digestibility, pigs were surgically fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum. The concentration of TMEn and the standardized AA digestibility by poultry were determined using the precision fed cecectomized rooster assay. Treatments in the swine experiment included SBM with no by-products; SBM with 1% gum; SBM with 3% gum; SBM with 0.5% soapstock; SBM with 1.5% soapstock; SBM with 2% weeds/trash; SBM with a combination of 3% gum, 1.5% soapstock, and 2% weeds/trash; SBM with 5.4% soybean oil; and roasted SB. A 10 x 10 Latin square design was utilized. The experiment was conducted at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and at The Ohio State University, Columbus. In the swine experiment, apparent ileal DM, OM, CP, and AA digestibilities were reduced (P < 0.05) when pigs consumed the combination by-product diet compared with the diet containing no by-products. Apparent ileal digestibilities of DM, CP, and total essential, total nonessential, and total AA were lower (P < 0.05) for any diet containing by-products compared with the diet with no by-products. Apparent ileal digestibilities of DM, OM, CP, and AA were lower (P < 0.05) for the roasted SB-compared with the SB oil-containing diet. In the rooster experiment, TMEn values were greater (P < 0.05) for roasted SB compared with SBM with no by-products and increased linearly as the addition of soapstock increased. Individual, total essential, total nonessential, and total AA digestibilities were lower (P < 0.05) for roosters fed roasted SB versus SBM devoid of by-products. Gums, soapstock, and weeds/trash reduce the nutritive value of the resultant meal when they are added back during processing.

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