Saccharomyces boulardii e prebiotici: effetti sul benessere intestinale del cane adulto

Aim of the present project was the evaluation of the effects of different prebiotics and yeast strains of Saccharomyces boulardii on the intestinal ecosystem of dogs, by use of microbial and chemical analyses. In the first part of the project, the effect of S.boulardii (SB), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), lactitol (LAC), and their combination were evaluated. There were 6 treatments: 1) control diet with no addition of substrates; 2) SB; 3) FOS; 4) LAC; 5) SB+FOS; 6) SB+LAC. In this study, SB failed to exert any effects on the selected bacterial populations. Conversely, administration of FOS and LAC may improve canine intestinal health, reducing proteolysis and enhancing VFA production. In the second part of the project (in vitro + in vivo trial), the effects of two yeast cell wall products (MOS and CW), a yeast strain of Saccharomyces boulardii (SB) and, only in vitro, fructo- oligosaccharides (FOS) were evaluated; the in vitro trial focused on 6 treatments: 1) control diet with no addition of substrates (CTRL); 2) MOS; 3) CW; 4) FOS; 5) SB; 6) CW + FOS. the in vivo feeding trial was conducted with 16 healthy adult dogs and 3 supplements were studied: 1) MOS; 2) CW; 3) SB. This was the experimental design: 1) 28d of adaptation to the base diet; 2) 28d of treatment with 2 groups (CTRL vs. MOS); 3) 28d of treatment with 2 groups (CTRL vs. CW); 3) 28d of treatment with 2 groups (CTRL vs. SB). After each experimental phase, a 14d wash out- period was conducted with the CTRL diet. Results from the in vitro study seem to show that supplements had both inhibitory and stimulating effects on faecal bacterial populations. Results from the in vivo study failed to highlight strong effects of the tested supplements on canine intestinal microbiota.