Implications of Dietary Fiber and Fermentable Carbohydrates on Gut Health and Intestinal Microbial Ecology of the Dog
Middelbos, Ingomar S.
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/83619
Description
Title
Implications of Dietary Fiber and Fermentable Carbohydrates on Gut Health and Intestinal Microbial Ecology of the Dog
Author(s)
Middelbos, Ingomar S.
Issue Date
2008
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Fahey, George C., Jr.
Department of Study
Animal Sciences
Discipline
Animal Sciences
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Biology, Animal Physiology
Language
eng
Abstract
The aim of this research was to assess the effects of dietary fiber and individual fermentable carbohydrates on gut health and gut microbial composition of dogs. Three experiments were conducted to (1) evaluate how supplemental mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) affect the dog gut and specific gut microbiota; (2) to evaluate if oligosaccharides like MOS and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) can replace beet pulp as a fiber source in dog diets; and (3) to determine how beet pulp affects the overall composition of the gut microbiome. The effect of supplemental MOS by itself was limited, with a linear decrease in fecal E. coli concentrations as the most notable result. Blends of FOS, MOS, and cellulose included at 2.5% of the diet resulted in similar responses when compared to 2.5% inclusion of beet pulp. Unexpectedly, beet pulp increased certain fecal microbial populations comparable to the FOS/MOS blends. Based on fecal short-chain fatty acid profiles, blends containing fermentable oligosaccharides appear to elicit similar fermentation responses compared to beet pulp. It was concluded that the blends used in this research can potentially replace beet pulp in dry dog foods at a 2.5% inclusion level. The effect of dietary fiber on gut microbiome composition was evaluated by adding 7.5% beet pulp to a low-fiber control diet. Diversity in the individual dog gut in this research was found to be similar to that in humans and non-human primates. The three dominant bacterial phyla in the dog gut were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Fusobacteria, and beet pulp appeared to increase Firmicute presence, whereas beet pulp decreased Fusobacteria presence. Furthermore, the composition of the gut microbiota appeared to be altered similarly in individual dogs fed the same diet when evaluated with principal component analysis. The general conclusion of this research was that fermentable carbohydrates can change gut microbial populations and the addition of dietary fiber affects the overall composition of the gut microbiome.
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