The objective of this study was to evaluate whether providing chitosan (CHI) to cows fed diets supplemented with whole raw soybeans (WRS) would affect the nutrient intake and digestibility, ruminal fermentation and bacterial populations, microbial protein synthesis, N utilization, blood metabolites, and milk yield and composition of dairy cows. Twenty-four multiparous Holstein cows (141 ± 37.1 d in milk, 38.8 ± 6.42 kg/d of milk yield; mean ± SD) were enrolled to a 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment with 23-d periods. Cows were blocked within Latin squares according to milk yield, days in milk, body weight, and rumen cannula (n = 8). A 2 × 2 factorial treatment arrangement was randomly assigned to cows within blocks. Treatments were composed of diets with 2 inclusion rates of WRS (0 or 14% diet dry matter) and 2 doses of CHI (0 or 4 g/kg of dry matter, Polymar Ciência e Nutrição, Fortaleza, Brazil). In general, CHI+WRS negatively affected nutrient intake and digestibility of cows, decreasing milk yield and solids production. The CHI increased ruminal pH and decreased acetate to propionate ratio, and WRS reduced NH-N concentration and acetate to propionate in the rumen. The CHI reduced the relative bacterial population of Butyrivibrio group, whereas WRS decreased the relative bacterial population of Butyrivibrio group, and Fibrobacter succinogenes, and increased the relative bacterial population of Streptococcus bovis. No interaction effects between CHI and WRS were observed on ruminal fermentation and bacterial populations. The CHI+WRS decreased N intake, microbial N synthesis, and N secreted in milk of cows. The WRS increased N excreted in feces and consequently decreased the N excreted in urine. The CHI had no effects on blood metabolites, but WRS decreased blood concentrations of glucose and increased blood cholesterol concentration. The CHI and WRS improved efficiency of milk yield of cows in terms of fat-corrected milk, energy-corrected milk, and net energy of lactation. The CHI increased milk concentration [g/100 g of fatty acids (FA)] of 18:1 trans-11, 18:2 cis-9,cis-12, 18:3 cis-9,cis-12,cis-15, 18:1 cis-9,trans-11, total monounsaturated FA, and total polyunsaturated FA. The WRS increased total monounsaturated FA, polyunsaturated FA, and 18:0 to unsaturated FA ratio in milk of cows. Evidence indicates that supplementing diets with unsaturated fat sources along with CHI negatively affects nutrient intake and digestibility of cows, resulting in less milk production. Diet supplementation with CHI or WRS can improve feed efficiency and increases unsaturated FA concentration in milk of dairy cows.

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the macronutrients composition, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, and essential minerals content of all vegan foods for dogs and cats available in the Brazilian market, and to compare results with FEDIAF (2019) and AAFCO (2019) recommendations. Four vegan pet foods were assessed (three for dogs and one for cats). The comparisons were made in a descriptive manner. All foods met the minimum recommendations for macronutrients. Arachidonic acid was not reported in any food label. Regarding the FEDIAF recommendations, one food for dogs had low calcium, another had low potassium and a third had low sodium. The cat food presented potassium content lower than recommended. The Ca:P ratio did not meet the minimum recommendation of FEDIAF (2019) and AAFCO (2019) in any of the dog's foods analyzed, and the cat food also did not present the minimum recommendation based on FEDIAF (2019). Copper concentrations exceeded the legal limit in all foods. Zinc concentrations exceeded this limit in two foods (one for dogs and one for cats) and iron levels exceeded the legal limit in one dog food. One of the dog foods did not meet the minimum recommendation for methionine and the cat food did not meet the minimum recommendation for arginine. In addition, when the amount of nutrients consumed by animals with low energy requirements was simulated, in addition to the same non-conformities described above, it was observed that the cat food does not meet the minimum recommended of protein and taurine in unit/Kg 0.67 . It was concluded that all foods analyzed had one or more nutrients below the recommended levels and some presented zinc and copper excess, therefore, these foods should not be recommended for dogs and cats, because dietary deficiencies found may lead to health risks for dogs and cats. Furthermore, manufacturers should review their formulations to ensure the nutritional adequacy of these foods.

Background Among the undesirable changes associated with obesity, one possibility recently raised is dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota. Studies have shown changes in microbiota in obese rats and humans, but there are still few studies that characterize and compare the fecal microbiota of lean, obese and dogs after weight loss. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of a weight loss program (WLP) in fecal microbiota of dogs in addition to comparing them with those of lean dogs. Twenty female dogs of different breeds, aged between 1 and 9 years were selected. They were equally divided into two groups: Obese group (OG), with body condition score (BCS) 8 or 9/9, and body fat percentage greater than 30%, determined by the deuterium isotope dilution method, and lean group (LG) with BCS 5/9, and maximum body fat of 15%. Weight loss group (WLG) was composed by OG after loss of 20% of their current body weight. Fecal samples were collected from the three experimental groups. Total DNA was extracted from the feces and these were sequenced by the Illumina methodology. The observed abundances were evaluated using a generalized linear model, considering binomial distribution and using the logit link function in SAS (p < 0.05). Results The WLP modulated the microorganisms of the gastrointestinal tract, so that, WLG and LG had microbial composition with greater biodiversity than OG, and intestinal uniformity of the microbiota (Pielou’s evenness index) was higher in OG than WLG dogs (P = 0.0493) and LG (P = 0.0101). In addition, WLG had values of relative frequency more similar to LG than to OG. Conclusion The fecal microbiota of the studied groups differs from each other. The weight loss program can help to reverse the changes observed in obese dogs.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of two prebiotics in different concentrations on nutrient digestibility, fermentative products and immunological variables in adult dogs. Twentyfour adult dogs were randomly divided into six blocks according to their metabolic body weights (BW 0.75); within these groups, dogs were randomized to four treatments: control without prebiotics (CO); inclusion of 0.5% prebiotic blend Yes-Golf (B1); inclusion of 1.0% galactooligosaccharide (GOS); and inclusion of 1.0% prebiotic blend Yes-Golf (B2). The experiment lasted 30 days, with 20 days adaptation and 10 days stool and blood collection. Results were analyzed for normality and means were separated by ANOVA and adjusted by the Tukey test at the significance level of 5.0%. Prebiotic supplementation had no effect on apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC), total stool production and fecal scores (p > 0.05). Prebiotics evaluated also did not alter fecal pH, nor the concentrations of ammonia, lactic acid, short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and most fecal branched chain fatty acids (BCFA) (p > 0.05). The addition of GOS decreased the concentration of iso-valeric acid (p = 0.0423). Regarding immunological variables, concentrations of fecal IgA were not influenced by the treatments. Treatments GOS and B2 increased the total number of polymorphonuclear cells, as well as the oxidative burst in relation to treatments B1 and CO (p < 0.0001). Treatment B2 improved the rate of S. aureus phagocytosis in relation to CO (p = 0.0111), and both the GOS and B2 treatments had a better index for E. coli phagocytosis than the CO treatment (p = 0.0067). In conclusion, there was indication that both prebiotics GOS and B2 at 1.0% inclusion improved the immunity of healthy dogs.