Effects of including increasing levels of prebiotics in the adult dogs diet on the digestive parameters, fecal fermentation, microbiota and immunity

Abstract

In order to promote health and reduce the risk of diseases, pet nutrition has evolved similarly to human, in the search for functional foods. In this sense, the prebiotic can be quite promising. The Saccharomyces cerevisiea are yeast with high prebiotic capacity, they stimulate the production of substances with immunostimulatory properties and enhance the ability to prevent colonization of pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. However, its composition determines the ability of action, based on the substrate and means that was nurtured. Thus, the yeast production process will determine the intensity of action. This study aims to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of yeast with active metabolites (AML), based on the fermentation of specific substrates, the apparent digestibility of nutrients, microbial and products of fecal fermentation and immunological parameters of adult dogs. Will be used 18 dogs, male and female, adult and healthy. The animals will be used in a completely randomized design, consisting of three experimental treatments, called: CD (control diet), YAM 0.3 (control diet with 0.3% yeast with active metabolites) and YAM 0.6 (control diet 0.6% of yeast with active metabolites). In stool samples will be performed analyzes of short-chain fatty acids, branched and lactic acid; microbiota, ammonia, biogenic amines and volatile compounds. To determine the possible immunostimulatory effects will be performed the tests phagocytosis and oxidative burst, lymphocyte proliferation and lymphocyte immunophenotyping. The results will be analyzed using the computer program Statistical Analysis System (SAS Institute Inc., 2004) and according to the data distribution, parametric statistical tests or nonparametric will be employed. (AU)