Responses of feeding prebiotics on nutrient digestibility, faecal microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid concentrations in dogs: a meta-analysis

Abstract

The effects of prebiotics on digestibility, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations and bacterial populations in the faeces and immunity in dogs were evaluated by meta-analyses. Overall, data from 15 published studies containing 65 different treatment means of 418 observations from different breeds of dogs were included in the data set. Feeding of prebiotics to dogs did not affect the nutrient intake (P . 0.10), nor did prebiotics change (P . 0.10) the digestibility of dry matter (DM) and fat. However, crude protein (CP) digestibility tended to decrease quadratically (P 5 0.06) with increasing dosages of prebiotics, although the degree of prediction was low (R 2 5 0.33). The concentration of total SCFA (P 5 0.08; R 2 5 0.90) tended to increase linearly, whereas concentration of acetate (R 2 5 0.25), propionate (R 2 5 0.88) and butyrate (R 2 5 0.85) increased quadratically with increasing dosage of prebiotics in the faeces of dogs. The numbers of beneficial bifidobacteria (P , 0.01; R 2 5 0.62) increased quadratically, but lactobacilli (P , 0.01; R 2 5 0.66) increased linearly with increasing supplementation of prebiotics. The changes in healthy bacterial numbers were affected by the interaction of initial bacterial numbers and dose of prebiotics; bacterial numbers increased relatively more when initial bacterial numbers were low. Dietary composition did not influence the response of prebiotics on lactobacilli and bifidobacterial numbers in this study. The numbers of pathogenic Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli were not affected by prebiotics. Prebiotics did not affect the serum immunoglobulin (Ig) concentrations such as IgG, IgA and IgM in dogs. Although prebiotics may tend to have an adverse effect on CP digestibility, prebiotics at doses up to 1.40% food intake (DM basis) might increase the beneficial bacterial populations and SCFA concentrations in the faeces of dogs. Thus, the feeding of prebiotics has a great prospective to improve the intestinal health of dogs.

The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: A Review

“…144 Meta-analysis of 15 studies including 65 different treatment conditions showed that fecal SCFAs concentrations increase linearly with prebiotic dose. 145 This analysis also revealed that fecal Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus increase with prebiotic dose, although no changes were observed for pathogenic C. perfingens or E. coli. The impacts of prebiotics were not related to the composition of the dog's diet, suggesting that prebiotic therapies can provide benefits independent of diet.…”

“…In 1 study, chicory root, a source of inulin, improved fecal scores, increased Bifidobacteria , and decreased C. perfringens in the feces of healthy dogs . Meta‐analysis of 15 studies including 65 different treatment conditions showed that fecal SCFAs concentrations increase linearly with prebiotic dose . This analysis also revealed that fecal Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus increase with prebiotic dose, although no changes were observed for pathogenic C. perfingens or E. coli .…”

Molecular assessment of the fecal microbiota in healthy cats and dogs before and during supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin using high-throughput 454-pyrosequencing

“…First, prebiotics can be offered as a fixed percentage of dry matter. Indeed, most well-controlled prebiotic papers in cats and dogs report the dose of prebiotics in percentage of dry matter intake, varying from 0% to 7% (Patra, 2011). A potential issue with this way of administering prebiotics (i.e., as percentage of dry matter) is that the amount of food consumed by a given pet cat or dog may vary substantially over time (e.g., accordingly to age) and among different animals (e.g., two dogs, each weighting 10 kg, may consume different amounts of food).…”

“…Studies have shown an effect of these ingredients on fecal microbial composition, nutrient digestibility, and short-chain fatty acid concentrations, particularly in dogs (Patra, 2011; Schmitz & Suchodolski, 2016; De Godoy, Kerr & Fahey, 2013). Domestic cats are obligate carnivores but several studies support the hypothesis that microbial fermentation inside the distal gut is significant and beneficial to the host (Rochus, Janssens & Hesta, 2014).…”

Sıvı Formdaki Oligofruktoz ile Zenginleştirilmiş İnulin Katkısının Kısa Süreli Kullanımının Sağlıklı Saanen Irkı Oğlaklarda Dışkı Özellikleri ve Bazı Serum Parametreleri Üzerine Etkisi

“…Barry et al [4] demonstrated that faecal concentrations of Clostridium perfringens, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were not affected in healthy dogs when 0.2% or 0.4% inulin or scFOS was added to the diet. The results of prebiotic supplementation on intestinal microflora may be better during a disease challenge when the numbers of beneficial bacteria in the colon are decreased [37] . Heinrichs et al [33] reported that the reason for the lack effect of prebiotic supplementation on faecal bacterial populations might be that calves used in their study were healthy.…”