Adição de zeólita, yucca, betaglucano e butirato de cálcio em dietas secas para cães: efeitos sobre o microbioma

Abstract

Additives such as zeolite, Yucca schidigera extract, beta-glucans and calcium butyrate can improve dogs' intestinal health by reducing fecal odor, stimulating the immune system and providing energy for enterocytes. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the synergistic action of clinoptilolite zeolite (ZC), Yucca schidigera (YSE), β-glucans from algae and calcium butyrate (BC) on the fecal microbiome of dogs. The experimental design used was DBC, in which 15 dogs, males and females, with an average age of 6 ± 0.14 years, were randomly divided into five groups, during three periods, totaling nine replications per treatment. The treatments were: control, without any additives (T0); T0 + 0.75% ZC (T1); T0 + 0.75% ZC + 0.1% YSE (T2); T0 + 0.75% ZC + 0.1 YSE + 0.03% β-Glucans (T3); and T0 + 0.75% ZC + 0.1% YSE + 0.03% β-Glucans + 0.5% BC (T4). There were no significant differences in relation to the alpha and beta diversity of microorganisms found in the feces of dogs fed different treatments. However, all treatments showed high α-diversity, indicating a state of eubiosis, a rich and balanced microbial community. For all treatments, the following phyla predominated, Firmicutes (51.34-62.36%), Bacteroidota (17.17-22.59%), Fusobacteria (13.29- 20.35%), Actinobacteriota ( 2.21-4.89) and Proteobacteria (2.27-4.28%). For all treatments, within the Firmicutes phylum there was a prevalence of bacteria of the genus Allobaculum. These are related to the production of butyric acid, SCFA, which can be used as an energy source for colonocytes. Regarding the phylum Bacteroidota, the genus Prevotella showed high relative abundance, which contributes to the fermentation of polysaccharides, therefore they are related to the increase in SCFA in the intestinal colon, being considered a marker of intestinal eubiosis. Therefore, the inclusion of ZC, YSE, B-glucans and BC provided a eubiotic intestinal environment, and could therefore be a good alternative for the pet food market.