Effects of dietary supplementation with increasing doses of lactose on faecal bacterial populations and metabolites and apparent total tract digestibility in adult dogs

Abstract

The effect of increasing dietary doses of lactose on canine faecal microbiota and apparent digestibility was evaluated. Fourteen adult healthy dogs [1-5 years of age, mean body weight (BW) of 19.0 kg] were fed with an extruded diet containing silica (5 g/kg) as a digestion marker. After a 20 d adaptation period, increasing doses of lactose were added to the dogs' diet (0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg BW 0.75 /d) during three consecutive 20-d supplementation periods. Faeces were collected at the end of each period for analyses. Four dogs refused the diet added with lactose at 0.5 g/kg BW 0.75 /d and were excluded from the trial, as well as two dogs, which developed acute diarrhoea when lactose was fed at 1 g/kg BW 0.75 /d. Conversely, eight dogs remained healthy throughout the study. Faecal moisture was influenced by lactose (quadratic, p ¼ .001), while faecal pH and ammonia were not affected by treatments. Lactose supplementations tended to linearly decrease isovalerate (p ¼ .051) and quadratically influence n-valerate (p ¼ .056) in canine faeces. No changes in faecal microbial populations were observed. Apparent digestibility of dry matter, Ca, K, Mn and Fe was influenced by lactose supplementation (quadratic, p < .05). Increasing doses of lactose linearly decreased Mg digestibility (p < .05). Furthermore, coefficients of crude protein, crude ash, P, Mg and Zn digestibility were tendentially affected (quadratic, p ¼ .055, .089, .091, .065 and .065, respectively). In conclusion, 8 of 14 dogs displayed a good tolerance (absence of gastrointestinal signs) up to the highest dose of lactose (2 g/kg BW 0.75 /d). An evident prebiotic effect was not observed. ARTICLE HISTORY

Effect of lactose-free milk powder on lactose intolerance symptoms and nutritional status of pet dogs

“…In total, 50% of the dogs fed standard cow milk powder and 60% of animals fed goat milk powder manifested lesser symptoms of lactose intolerance. In an earlier study, up to 2 g lactose/kg body weight was tolerated by over half (8/14) of the dogs from different breeds (Grandi et al, 2018). In a study carried out with four adult Beagle dogs receiving a daily dose of 1 g lactose/kg body weight for 10 d, none of the animals displayed gastrointestinal disorders (Zentek et al, 2002).…”

“…Unabsorbed lactose causes isotonic water retention, which increases faecal water content, causing gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain (Brown-Esters et al, 2012). Dogs exhibit different levels of lactose intolerance, with symptoms varying from mild gastrointestinal problems to severe diarrhoea and vomiting (Grandi et al, 2018;Craig, 2019). Goat milk is often recommended for dogs, as it has a slightly lower lactose content than cow's milk; on average 4.2-4.8% lactose in goat milk vs 4.7-5.0% lactose in cow's milk (Silanikove et al, 2015).…”

Continuous intake of galacto-oligosaccharides containing syrup contributes to maintaining the health of household dogs by modulating their gut microbiota

“…Monosaccharides are digested and absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract, suggesting that they have little impact on the microbiota. The disaccharide Galβ1-4Glc also has little influence [ 39 ]. Consequently, the effects observed in this study are assumed to be attributable to GOS.…”

Effect of esomeprazole with and without a probiotic on fecal dysbiosis, intestinal inflammation, and fecal short‐chain fatty acid concentrations in healthy dogs

“…was elected in place of a placebo (lactose) because it is unknown if lactose, a disaccharide, can change the microbiome through prebiotic effects. 21 Phase II consisted of a 7-day course of esomeprazole (dosed at approximately 1 mg/kg by mouth every 24 hours). Phase III consisted of a 4-week washout period.…”

“…Phase I consisted of 7 days of no treatment and allowed for the assessment of baseline values. No treatment was elected in place of a placebo (lactose) because it is unknown if lactose, a disaccharide, can change the microbiome through prebiotic effects 21 . Phase II consisted of a 7‐day course of esomeprazole (dosed at approximately 1 mg/kg by mouth every 24 hours).…”