Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Two studies evaluated the use of prebiotics in diseased or immunocompromised
animals.
4,5
Gouveia et al.
4
evaluated 16 dogs experiencing gastroenteritis and supple-
mented with MOS (Bio-Mos, Alltech, Nicholasville, KY) for 10 days. The dogs were
divided into two groups: T1, dogs receiving treatment + MOS; and T2, dogs receiv-
ing treatment for the disease only. By day 10 of the study,
E. coli
was eliminated
from 85.7 percent of the dogs on T1 and only 25.0 percent on T2. The authors sug-
gested that the presence of
E. coli
would lead to an intensification of the symptoms
of gastroenteritis.
A second study evaluated weanling puppies, which are considered to be in an
immunocompromised state due to the stress of separation from the mother and to
a change of diet, some of which were challenged with
Salmonella typhimurium
.
5
Puppies were fed a control diet, control + 1 percent scFOS, or control + 1 percent
inulin. All dogs decreased their food intake at day 15 following oral gavage of either
S. typhimurium
or saline. Dogs fed the diets containing a prebiotic had less of a
decrease in food intake. Enterocyte sloughing was higher in control puppies that
were infected; however, there were no differences in sloughing when puppies were
fed either prebiotic. Furthermore, puppies fed the prebiotics were able to maintain
ileal glucose transport, while puppies fed the control diet and that were infected with
Salmonella
experienced low glucose transport.
These two studies indicate a protective effect of prebiotic supplementation for
dogs that are immunocompromised. This has often been speculated, yet these are
the first studies to report such findings. Further work in this area would be beneficial
for several other disease states (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, small intestinal
bacterial overgrowth).
Jeusette et al.
7
evaluated obese dogs during weight loss fed a control diet (1
percent scFOS) or supplemented diet (control + 2 percent additional scFOS). Food-
restricted blood samples were analyzed for total ghrelin, insulin, leptin, and glucose
at the beginning and end of this period of weight loss. Ghrelin is a peptide that
influences satiety. It is considered an orexigenic hormone, leading to increased food
intake. Leptin is produced by the adipose tissue and increases in the circulation as
body adiposity increases. It is an anorexigenic hormone leading to decreased food
intake and increased energy expenditure. The authors noted no differences in any
blood metabolites due to prebiotic supplementation. While these authors noted no
changes, these criteria will be of interest in future studies. Dogs utilized in this study
were obese and fed to lose weight. The changes due to weight loss may have over-
shadowed any changes due to diet. Further investigation of the effects of prebiotics
on these blood metabolites is warranted.
Blood immunoglobulin concentrations often are used as an indicator of benefi-
cial effects of prebiotic supplementation. Adogony et al.
8
measured immunoglobu-
lins in colostrum and milk of bitches fed either a control diet or one supplemented
with 1 percent scFOS. Higher concentrations of immunoglobulin-A (IgA), IgG, and
IgM in the colostrum would be considered a beneficial response, as these would be
transferred to the offspring. Colostrum and milk IgM were higher in dogs supple-
mented with scFOS. This increase in IgM was noted to have a beneficial effect on
puppies as well, as they tended to have a higher
Bordetella
bronchiseptica
-speciic
