الفهرس 
Title : Some Dietary Interventions to Improve Gastrointestinal Physiology and Promote Health Status of Dogs
AbstractOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The gut microbiome contributes to host metabolism, protects against pathogens, supports the immune system, and through these basic functions, affects directly or indirectly most physiologic functions of the host. German shepherd dog(GSD) breed is commonly predisposed to gastrointestinal diseases and many immune-related disorders. According to the outcomes from clinical studies, an intricate relationship occurs between the beneficial microbiota, gut homeostasis, and the host’s health status. This study was designed to determine the impact of dietary supplementation of coated sodium butyrate and/or postbiotics on growth performance, faecal moisture, faecal score, antioxidant activity, cholesterol and calcium level. In addition it investigates the possibility of using these food additives as a promising clinico-nutritional management tool to improve the performance of the gastrointestinal tract and to prevent or decrease the incidence of some gastrointestinal problems that commonly occur in GSD.The experimental study consisted of a 7days adaptation period followed by 45 days of experimental period. The feeding trial was carried out at a private dog farm located in Al-Obour city Cairo, Egypt. The study protocol has followed the guidelines of the International Animal Care Institute Committee of Cairo University (IACUC) and approved with Protocol number (Vet CU12/10/2021/387). In this study, twelve male German shepherd dogs, six-month-old, were randomly allocated into four dietary treatments. Each treatment contained 3 dogs. The four groups were: 1) Control (CON) group was fed only the basal diet without any food additive; 2) The Butyrate (BUTR) group was fed the basal diet supplemented with coated sodium butyratewith a dose of 0.5 g/dog/day; 3) Postbiotics (POST) group was fed the basal diet supplemented with postbiotics); 4) MIX group was fed on the basal diet supplemented with a mix of postbiotics and coated sodium butyrate. Results of the trial reported that the average daily gain (ADG) was improved in the MIX group followed by BUTR and POST groups while the lowest ADG was recorded in the control group (P=0.02). Body condition scoring (BCS) was significantly improved in the MIX group followed by the BUTR group (P=0.02). Blood serum indices showed improvement in serum calcium level in MIX and BUTR groups compared to the control group (P=0.02). In addition, the total serum cholesterol level is the lowest in the MIX and BUTR groups (P=0.01). Malondialdehyde (MDA) tended to decrease in the MIX group followed by BUTR and POST groups. Fecal scorewas the best in the MIX group followed by BUTR one. The fecal moisture significantly decreased in all treatment groups compared to the control one (P=0.01). In conclusion, coated sodium butyrate and/or postbiotic could be used safely in GSD food to improve gut health reflected on growth performance, nutrient absorption, antioxidant status and the general health of dogs.