Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fructan supplements affect food intake and fever
By Apanavicius, Carolyn J et al.·Published in The Journal of nutrition·2007·Department of Animal Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Fructan supplementation and infection affect food intake, fever, and epithelial sloughing from Salmonella challenge in weanling puppies.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 12-week-old hound-cross puppies were given different diets to see how a prebiotic called fructan would affect their health after being exposed to Salmonella bacteria. The puppies that ate the fructan diet had less decrease in their food intake and less severe gut issues compared to those on a regular diet when they got sick. This suggests that fructan may help protect puppies from the negative effects of infections like Salmonella. Overall, the puppies on the fructan diet seemed to handle the infection better and maintained their health more effectively.
People also search for: puppy Salmonella infection treatment · benefits of fructan for puppies · how to help sick puppies eat
Abstract
Our objective was to examine the effects of fructan supplementation on the immune response of weanling puppies subjected to bacterial challenge. Previous studies in bacterial challenged neonatal piglets have reported benefits of fructan supplementation. Thirty hound-cross puppies (12 wk of age) were used in a 2 x 3 factorial randomized complete block design. Following a 7-d baseline period, puppies were assigned to diets containing: 1) no prebiotic, 2) 1% short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS), or 3) 1% inulin. After 14 d on treatment diet, dogs received an oral gavage of: 1) Salmonella typhimurium DT104 (5 x 10(8) colony forming units) or 2) 0.9% saline. Food intake, fecal and activity scores, body temperature, body weight, blood chemistry, intestinal nutrient transport, intestinal morphology and pathology, and gut microbiota were measured. Food intake decreased (P < 0.01) and body temperature increased (P < 0.05) in infected puppies. However, the decrease in food intake was less (P < 0.05) in those consuming fructans. Infected puppies consuming fructans also had decreased (P = 0.05) severity of enterocyte sloughing than those fed the control diet. Ileal Na+-dependent glucose transport was decreased (P = 0.02) in infected vs. noninfected puppies consuming CON, whereas no changes occurred in fructan-supplemented animals. Puppies consuming inulin also had increased fecal acetate (P = 0.03) and total short-chain fatty acid (P = 0.06) concentrations than scFOS-fed puppies and controls. Finally, puppies fed inulin had an increase (P = 0.05) in Lactobacillus concentrations compared with scFOS and CON. In summary, fructan supplementation appeared to attenuate some of the negative responses associated with Salmonella challenge and may provide protection against infection in weanling puppies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17634265/