Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
number of biomarkers of health status in humans and animal models. Second, and
partly as a result of the health message expressed above, niche diets will be formu-
lated to appeal to consumers with demands for high quality. New types of foods and
treats will emerge for dogs and cats, and they will be of near human grade quality.
Again, the pre-, pro-, and synbiotics will be viewed as important components of
these health-enhancing diets.
It is the intent of this chapter to provide a comprehensive review of the research
that has been conducted in the dog and cat related to use of pre-, pro-, and synbiotics.
Several outcome variables have been measured to test efficacy of these compounds
in pet animals, but relative to the research reported on rodents, humans, livestock,
and poultry, it becomes clear that much less research is available on this topic for
pets than for any of the other animal species just mentioned.
17.2 PrEvIous rEvIEW oF PrEbIoTIC olIgosACChArIDE
usAgE IN CoMPANIoN ANIMAl NuTrITIoN
The use of prebiotics in companion animal nutrition was reviewed comprehen-
sively by Swanson and Fahey.
2
As regards research conducted from 1992 through
2004, 23 canine and 4 feline prebiotic publications were reported in the literature. Of
those, most reported the effectiveness of fructans of varying degrees of polymeriza-
tion (dp), including chicory (a natural source of long-chain fructans), inulin (up to
60 dp), oligofructose (OF; 8 to 9 dp), and scFOS (3 to 5 dp). Other oligosaccharides
evaluated in canine diets included yeast cell wall (YCW), a source of mannanoligo-
saccharides, α-galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO),
lactosucrose, lactulose, maltodextrin-like oligosaccharides (MD), transgalacto-oli-
gosaccharides (TGOS), and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS). Inulin, lactosucrose, OF,
and scFOS have been tested in the limited number of published reports involving
felines.
Studies evaluating prebiotics have utilized several outcome variables to assess
efficacy in canine and feline diets, including (1) food intake, (2) fecal output, (3) stool
consistency, (4) macronutrient digestibility (ileal and total tract apparent digestibil-
ity), (5) fermentative end-products, (6) immune indices, and (7) intestinal microbial
populations. Stool consistency and quantity of fecal output are important in com-
panion animal nutrition and are, therefore, important criteria to measure in prebiotic
studies. Furthermore, for a nondigestible carbohydrate to be considered a “prebiotic,”
it must modulate the activity of one or a select number of microorganisms, another
important experimental outcome to measure when conducting prebiotic studies.
Swanson and Fahey
2
discussed each of these outcome variables in their review. A
brief summary of that review follows.
In canine studies, inclusion of prebiotics at 1 to 2 percent of the diet resulted in
few effects on food intake. Prebiotic supplementation can lead to greater wet fecal
weight and decreased fecal dry matter (DM) percentage. This may prove beneficial
in preventing and treating constipation. Total tract macronutrient digestibility—
organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP)—sometimes decreased with prebiotic
