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Effects of dietary cellobiose on the intestinal microbiota and excretion of nitrogen metabolites in healthy adult dogs
Author(s) -
Paßlack Nadine,
Kohn Barbara,
Vahjen Wilfried,
Zentek Jürgen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.651
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1439-0396
pISSN - 0931-2439
DOI - 10.1111/jpn.13485
Subject(s) - cellobiose , lachnospiraceae , excretion , prebiotic , feces , food science , chemistry , fermentation , bacteroides , gut flora , eubacterium , biology , limnetic zone , medicine , endocrinology , zoology , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , firmicutes , cellulase , enzyme , genetics , 16s ribosomal rna , gene , ecology , littoral zone
In order to evaluate the potential prebiotic effects of cellobiose, 10 healthy adult research beagle dogs received a complete diet containing 0, 0.5 and 1 g cellobiose/kg bodyweight (BW)/day. At the end of each feeding period, faeces, urine and blood of the dogs were collected. The results demonstrated a significant increase of faecal lactate concentrations, indicating a bacterial fermentation of cellobiose in the canine intestine. Along with this, a dose‐dependent linear increase of the relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae in the faeces of the dogs was observed ( p = 0.014). In addition, a dose‐dependent increase ( p < 0.05) of Alloprevotella , Bacteroides and Prevotella , and a linear decrease for unidentified Lachnospiraceae ( p = 0.011) was observed when cellobiose was added to the diet, although the relative abundance of these genera was low (<1%) among all groups. The faecal pH was not affected by dietary cellobiose. Cellobiose seemed to modulate the excretion of nitrogen metabolites, as lower concentrations of phenol ( p = 0.034) and 4‐ethylphenol ( p = 0.002) in the plasma of the dogs were measured during the supplementation periods. Urinary phenols and indoles, however, were not affected by the dietary supplementation of cellobiose. In conclusion, cellobiose seems to be fermented by the intestinal microbiota of dogs. Although no effect on the faecal pH was detected, the observed increase of microbial lactate production might lower the pH in the large intestine and consecutively modulate the intestinal absorption of nitrogen metabolites. Also, the observed changes of some bacterial genera might have been mediated by increased intestinal lactate concentrations or a higher relative abundance of lactobacilli. Whether these results could be considered as a prebiotic effect and used as a dietetic strategy in diseased animals to improve gut function or hepatic and renal nitrogen metabolism should be evaluated in future studies.