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Prebiotics and probiotics: use in the dog and cat

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Category: Schede
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  • Disciplina: Alimentazione
  • Specie: Cane e Gatto

The gastrointestinal microbiota consists of a very complex ecosystem which includes numerous bacterial species, some beneficial and others potentially harmful, the activity of which exerts an important influence on the digestive function and, more generally, on the well-being and health of the host (Roberfroid et al., 1995).

The ability to modulate the composition and metabolism of the microbiota is a strategy which is already available for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases; this said, the interactions occurring between the intestinal microbiota and the host are much more complex than what can be imagined.

The composition and metabolism of the intestinal microbiota is first of all influenced by the diet (Grzeskowiak et al., 2015) and, in particular, by the indigestible or poorly digestible dietary constituents which remain available for the microorganisms that live in the ileum and the large intestine, i.e. the intestinal sments in which the highest concentration of bacteria is present. In humans and in domestic animals the dietary components that can positively affect the intestinal microbiota include specific nutritional supplements, among which probiotic microorganisms and molecules with a prebiotic activity (the combination of a probiotic with a prebiotic constitutes a so-called synbiotic).

Main effects of intestinal microbiota on the health of the host

The main positive effects resulting from the presence of a stable gut microbiota, rich in beneficial bacterial species, may be summarized as follows:

  1. detoxifying action against toxins coming from the diet or produced in the GI tract (Tomomatsu, 1994);
  2. barrier effect against pathogenic bacteria, the proliferation of which is prevented by competitive phenomena (competition for the adhesion sites to the mucosal surface and for the availability of nutrients) and the production of specific bacteriocins (Liévin-Le Moal and Servin, 2006);
  3. utilization of the ammonia present within the intestine for the synthesis of bacterial proteins, with consequent reduced absorption of ammonia by the host (Howard et al., 2000);
  4. modulation of the host immune system (Round and Mazmanian, 2009);
  5. production of vitamins (LeBlanc et al., 2012);
  6. production of short chain fatty acids that are employed by the host as a source of energy (Stevens and Hume, 1998) and contribute to the lowering of the intestinal pH.

However, situations also exist in which the specific composition of the intestinal microbiota is associated with various diseases, such as - in human medicine - Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome (Nobaek et al., 2000; Seksik et al., 2003; Sokol et al., 2006). In the dog, the involvement of the intestinal microbiota is suspected in several forms of IBD (Suchodolski et al., 2012).

 

PROBIOTICS

Probiotics have been defined as dietary supplements consisting of live microorganisms which have a beneficial effect on the host by improving the composition of the intestinal microbiota (Fuller, 1989).

In Europe, probiotics are classified by the EC Regulation 1831/2003 as zootechnical additives and can be marketed only after concession of a specific authorization. Given the paucity of probiotic strains specifically authorized for use in the dog and cat (in recent years, in Europe, only one strain of Enterococcus faecium and one of Lactobacillus acidophilus have been authorized for the use in dogs and cats), veterinarians must often resort to products intended for human use (usually based on lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, the spores of Bacillus spp. and yeasts, such as, for example, Saccharomyces boulardii and S. cerevisiae).

In the dog, the use of specific strains of Lactobacillus spp. may be of help in the treatment of diet-responsive diarrhoea (Sauter et al., 2006; Pascher et al., 2008); it has also been observed that the use of lactic bacteria, bifidobacteria and strains of Bacillus spp. may improve the clinical picture of dogs suffering from acute enteritis (Kelley et al., 2009; Herstad et al., 2010) and IBD (Rossi et al., 2014). In addition, as confirmation of the immunomodulatory potential of some probiotic microorganisms, it has been shown that in growing dogs the administration of the probiotic strain Enterococcus faecium SF68 can increase the concentration of intestinal igA and improve the antibody response to vaccination (Benyacoub et al., 2003). The use of the same strain of Enterococcus faecium SF68 may also be useful in reducing the incidence of diarrhoeic episodes in the cat (Bybee et al., 2011).

More generally, the use of probiotic strains may improve the composition of the intestinal microbiota of adult healthy dogs (Baillon et al., 2004; Biagi et al., 2007) and cats (Biagi et al., 2013), resulting in an increased concentration of beneficial bacterial species at the expense of the undesirable ones.

Finally, please note that in humans and in laboratory animals some probiotic strains have been shown to possess anticarcinogenic properties (Donaldson, 2004) and even the ability to prevent some forms of food allergies (Del Giudice et al., 2010); however, to date, no evidence of these effects in dogs and cats has been shown.

 

PREBIOTICS

Prebiotics have been defined as fermentable ingredients - thanks to the action of specific microorganisms – which can induce changes in the composition and activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota in order to confer benefits to the welfare and health of the host (Roberfroid, 2007). Prebiotics must necessarily consist of constituents resistant to digestion; they must reach the large bowel, where they can exert their action by stimulating the growth and metabolism of beneficial microorganisms for which they represent a source of energy.

The most frequently used prebiotics are oligosaccharides, such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS; obtained by hydrolysis of inulin extracted from vegetable raw materials such as chicory, bananas, artichokes and cereals), inulin itself, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS; naturally found in milk) and some indigestible disaccharides, such as lactitol and lactulose. In addition, there are also foods rich in soluble fibres with a prebiotic activity, such as, for example, many legumes, barley and oats, beet pulp, asparagus, kiwi and bananas, as well as many other types of vegetables and fruits.

Several studies have shown that the addition of prebiotic substances to the diet of dogs and cats may have a positive impact on the composition and metabolism of their intestinal microbiota; however, these beneficial effects are not always evident (Strickling et al., 2000; Swanson et al., 2002; Flickinger et al., 2003; Barry et al., 2009; Biagi et al., 2010; Kanakupt et al., 2011).

Unfortunately, at the moment, in dogs and cats the number of studies on the use of prebiotic molecules in clinical practice is very limited. There is however evidence that the use of inulin may improve the clinical status of puppies infected with Salmonella typhimurium (Apanavicius et al., 2007).

Another very interesting aspect related to the use of prebiotic substances in monogastric animals consists in the possible reduction of bowel ammonia production; this phenomenon, which has been reported also in the dog (Flickinger et al., 2003; Biagi et al., 2010), is of great interest in the management of kidney and liver disorders in which the patient's ability to manage circulating ammonia is reduced.

Also in the dog the fermentation of prebiotic molecules by intestinal bacteria causes the production of short chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate, lactate and butyrate; Flickinger et al., 2003; Propst et al., 2003; Beloshapka et al., 2012); among these, butyrate is of particular interest in view of its strong trophic (Chapman et al., 1995) and anticarcinogenic (Velazquez et al., 1996) effect on the epithelium of the ileum and of the large bowel.

It is known from human medicine that prebiotics, if taken in large quantities, may have a laxative effect, so much so that some of them (e.g., lactitol and lactulose) are proposed as mild laxatives (Cummings and Macfarlane, 2002). In reality, the laxative effect is related to the dose of prebiotic used and most dogs tolerate concentrations of prebiotics of up to 2% of the dry matter of the diet without there being any alteration in stool consistency (Pinna and Biagi, 2014).

As for the possible modulatory effect of prebiotic molecules on the immune system, although this has been reported in some animal species (Lomax and Calder, 2009), to date very little is known about this possible effect in dogs and cats.

 

SYNBIOTICS

Synbiotics consist of the combination of one or more probiotic strains with molecules  having a prebiotic action (Schrezenmeir and De Vrese, 2001); the prebiotic molecules are selected among those that probiotic strains are capable of fermenting more rapidly.

Also in the dog there is evidence that in the modulation of the intestinal microbiota the combination of probiotics and prebiotics may be more effective than the administration of any of the two components alone (Swanson et al., 2002; Tzortzis et al., 2004; Ogué-Bon et al., 2011)

 

Suggested reading

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