A therapeutic gastrointestinal diet improves nutrient digestibility and modulates fecal microbiota and metabolites in dogs
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the effects of a therapeutic gastrointestinal diet on the apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs), metabolizable energy (ME), and palatability of the diet, fermentative metabolites, and fecal microbiome of dogs. Methods: Sixteen 1-year-old healthy Beagles were used. All animals consumed a control diet for healthy adult dogs for 20 days. On day 21, 8 dogs changed to a therapeutic gastrointestinal diet (test diet), and 8 dogs continued receiving the control diet for 35 days. Fresh feces were collected on days 0, 3, 15, and 30 after changing to the test diet for pH, fermentative metabolites, and microbiota analysis. Feces were collected for ADCs and ME analysis of the diets (days 31 through 35). The palatability of the control and test diets was compared at the end of the study. Results: The test diet presented greater ADCs of nutrients and ME and resulted in lower fecal pH and greater fecal concentrations of ammonia, total biogenic amines, total short-chain fatty acids, and butyrate. β-Diversity analysis revealed distinct fecal microbiome profiles between the diets on days 3, 15, and 30, with a greater abundance of Turicibacter and Faecalibacterium and lower Streptococcus in the test group. Dogs preferred the test to the control diet in the palatability test. Conclusions: The test diet presented high ADCs of nutrients, high palatability, and beneficially modulated the fecal microbiome and fermentative metabolites of dogs. Clinical Relevance: Providing a highly digestible and palatable diet with functional ingredients may contribute to the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders of dogs.
Institution: Universidade Federal do Paraná
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7116795100