Effect of diet type on serum and faecal concentration of S100/calgranulins in the captive cheetah

Gastrointestinal disease is omnipresent in captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), in contrast to its freeranging populations. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of diet type (meat-only whole prey) on gastrointestinal health in captive cheetahs by measuring faecal and serum concentrations of S100/calgranulins. This paper reports faecal S100A12 and calprotectin concentrations in 12 captive cheetahs fed supplemented beef versus whole rabbit for one month in a cross-over design. Also, serum S100A12 and calprotectin concentrations were determined in four cheetahs fed whole rabbit and six cheetahs fed supplemented beef, and these were compared to the faecal concentrations of the respective marker proteins. Both the immunoassay for canine calprotectin and canine S100A12 were precise and reproducible for use with serum samples and faecal extracts. Whereas the assay for S100A12 was linear and accurate, an inconsistent linearity of the canine calprotectin assay was observed and could be indicative of an insufficient cross-reactivity of the specific antibody used for this assay. Serum concentrations of S100A12 and calprotectin were not altered by diet type, and were not correlated with the respective concentrations in faeces. Numerically (P=0.241) greater calprotectin concentrations and greater (P=0.041) faecal S100A12 concentrations were detected in cheetahs fed supplemented beef compared with whole rabbit. These findings demonstrate that whole prey feeding may decrease intestinal inflammation in the captive cheetah. Consequently, the relation between diet type and intestinal inflammatory conditions in the captive cheetah warrants further investigation

Fermentation of animal components in strict carnivores: a comparative study with cheetah fecal inoculum

The natural diet of felids contains highly digestible animal tissues but also fractions resistant to small intestinal digestion, which enter the large intestine where they may be fermented by the resident microbial population. Little information exists on the microbial degradability of animal tissues in the large intestine of felids consuming a natural diet. This study aimed to rank animal substrates in their microbial degradability by means of an in vitro study using captive cheetahs fed a strict carnivorous diet as fecal donors. Fresh cheetah fecal samples were collected, pooled, and incubated with various raw animal substrates (chicken cartilage, collagen, glucosamine-chondroitin, glucosamine, rabbit bone, rabbit hair, and rabbit skin; 4 replicates per substrate) for cumulative gas production measurement in a batch culture technique. Negative (cellulose) and positive (casein and fructo-oligosaccharides; FOS) controls were incorporated in the study. Additionally, after 72 h of incubation, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), including branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA), and ammonia concentrations were determined for each substrate. Glucosamine and glucosamine-chondroitin yielded the greatest OM cumulative gas volume (OMCV) among animal substrates (P < 0.05), whereas total SCFA production was greatest for collagen (P < 0.05). Collagen induced an acetate production comparable to FOS and a markedly high acetate-to-propionate ratio (8.41:1) compared to all other substrates (1.67:1 to 2.97:1)

The effects of dietary fibre type on satiety-related hormones and voluntary food intake in dogs

Depending on type and inclusion level, dietary fibre may increase and maintain satiety and postpone the onset of hunger. This 7-week study evaluated the effect of fibre fermentability on physiological satiety-related metabolites and voluntary food intake (VFI) in dogs. Sixteen healthy adult dogs were fed a low-fermentable fibre (LFF) diet containing 8·5 % cellulose or a high-fermentable fibre (HFF) diet containing 8·5 % sugarbeet pulp and 2 % inulin. Large intestinal fibre degradation was evaluated by apparent faecal digestibility of nutrients and faecal SCFA and NH3 concentrations. Postprandial blood samples were obtained to determine postprandial plasma glucose, insulin, total peptide tyrosine–tyrosine (PYY), total glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and total ghrelin concentrations. At the end of the study, the dogs were given a single meal of a dry dog food to determine VFI. Dogs fed the HFF diet had a significantly higher large intestinal fibre degradation and production of SCFA compared with the dogs fed the LFF diet. The HFF-fed dogs tended (P = 0·058) to show a lower VFI at the end of the study. No treatment effects were found for postprandial plasma glucose, PYY, GLP-1 and ghrelin responses. The concentrations of these metabolites could not be related to the observed difference in VFI. The inclusion of fermentable fibre in canine diets may contribute to the prevention or mitigation of obesity through its effects on satiety. The underlying mechanisms require further investigatio

Bacterial fecal microbiota is only minimally affected by a standardized weight loss plan in obese cats

Background: Research in humans and mice suggests that obesity influences the abundance and diversity of gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota, and that an "obese microbiome" influences energy metabolism and fat storage in the host. Microbiota membership and composition have been previously assessed in healthy cats. However, research investigating the effects of obesity and weight loss on the cat's fecal microbiota is limited. Therefore, this study's objective was to evaluate differences in fecal microbial abundance and biodiversity, as well as serum cobalamin and folate concentrations in obese cats, before and after weight loss, and compare to lean cats. Fourteen lean and 17 obese healthy client-owned cats were fed a veterinary therapeutic weight loss food at maintenance energy requirement for 4 weeks. At the end of week 4, lean cats finished the study, whereas obese cats continued with a 10-week weight loss period on the same food, fed at individually-tailored weight loss energy requirements. Body weight and body condition score were recorded every 2 weeks throughout the study. At the end of each period, a fecal sample and food-consumption records were obtained from the owners, and serum cobalamin and folate concentrations were analysed. DNA was extracted from fecal samples, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed, and products were sequenced using next-generation sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). Results: No significant differences in the relative abundance of taxa and in biodiversity indices were observed between cats in either group (P > 0.05 for all tests). Nevertheless, some significantly enriched taxa, mainly belonging to Firmicutes, were noted in linear discriminant analysis effect size test in obese cats before weight loss compared to lean cats. Serum cobalamin concentrations were significantly higher in lean compared to obese cats both before and after weight loss. Serum folate concentrations were higher in obese cats before weight loss compared to after. Conclusions: The association between feline obesity and the fecal bacterial microbiota was demonstrated in enriched taxa in obese cats compared to lean cats, which may be related to enhanced efficiency of energy-harvesting. However, in obese cats, the fecal microbial abundance and biodiversity were only minimally affected during the early phase of a standardized weight loss plan