Utilizing metabolomics, a tool for measuring and characterizing low-molecular-weight substances (LMWs), to identify eventual changes in response to dietary intervention is novel in cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a condition characterized by retention of uremic solutes. This study aims to assess the serum metabolomic profile of cats in early stages of CKD and to compare the serum metabolomic of CKD cats after 60 days of a renal diet to evaluate the effect of dietary intervention on these metabolites. Twenty-five domestic cats were included in the study. Fifteen cats with CKD stages 1 (n = 6) and 2 (n = 9) according to the International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) were included in the renal groups, and a control group consisting of 10 cats was included. All animals were enrolled on a maintenance diet for 30 days before the experimental period. The metabolomics analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was performed on Metaboanalyst 4.0 software. Forty-three metabolites were identified. Citric acid and monostearin were altered in the CKD2 group when compared to CKD1 and the control group at T0. A total of seven serum metabolites differed after 60 days of the renal diet: glycine, fructose, glutamic acid, arachidonic acid, stearic acid, creatinine, and urea. Changes were seen in the serum metabolomic profile after 60 days of the renal diet, and some of the metabolites that changed in response to the diet have beneficial effects on health. Overall, metabolomics markers have the potential to identify early stages of CKD, providing insights into the possible pathophysiologic processes that contribute to the development and progression of CKD.
One of the most studied functional foods in dog feed today is the prebiotic. Prebiotics are known for their modulating effects on the intestinal microbiota, fecal characteristics, and the immune system, which promotes beneficial effects to the host. However, with the diversity of prebiotics in the pet market, there are discussions around which prebiotics to use to stimulate these positive effects. In this case, the objective of this review was to demonstrate the main effects of different prebiotics on the feeding of healthy dogs. Platforms such as Embase, PubMed, and Mendeley were accessed to plot all scientific articles in vivo that reported prebiotics to feed adult or senior dogs. After excluding duplicate articles and without the evaluated criteria, we obtained a total of 36 articles. Our results demonstrated the diversity and concentrations of prebiotics in the feeding of healthy adult and senior dogs. The effects of prebiotics differ according to source, concentration, and length of the supplementation period. Several beneficial effects of different prebiotics have been observed in dogs, such as increased fecal Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria concentrations and decreased fecal Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli concentrations, increased short chain fatty acids concentrations, decreased colonic ammonia absorption, and immunomodulatory effects, such as improved humoral immune response and increased phagocytic index. Galactooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, mannanoligosaccharides, yeast cell wall, inulin, and beta-glucans were the most studied prebiotics, which showed potentially promising effects. This is a review that brings the importance and the modulating effects of prebiotics in the feeding of healthy dogs; the effects help the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system.
Coprophagia is a common and undesirable behavior observed in dogs; however, little is known about its causes or possible consequences when analysis of the animal’s feces is needed for experimental purposes. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of coprophagy on digestibility, fecal pH, and fermentative metabolites. Twelve healthy dogs with a mean age of 3.50 ± 1.45 years were included and divided into two groups: coprophagic (COP) and non-coprophagic (NCOP). The study lasted 30 days, the last 6 days being used to collect feces for the analysis of the apparent digestibility of coefficients (ADC), fecal pH, and the concentration of short- and branched-chain fatty acids, ammonia, and fecal lactic acid. Statistical analysis was performed using the SAS software. No differences were observed for most variables, except for the ADC of nitrogen-free extract (NFE), which presented the highest average for the COP. This result should be interpreted with caution, as the NFE is estimated from calculations and was not determined in the laboratory; in addition, the results represent not only starch and sugars but also some parts referring to fibers. Therefore, coprophagy seemed not to influence the fecal variables analyzed.
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