The Utilisation of Prebiotics and Synbiotics in Dogs

Figures & data

Table 1. Main characteristics of some non-digestible oligosaccharides with prebiotic potential.

Name	Chemical composition	Production process	dp
Inulin	β(2-1) fructans with a terminal glucose	Extraction from chicory root, artichokes, bananas and wheat	11-60
Oligofructose (long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides)	β(2-1) fructans	Enzymatic (β-fructosidase) synthesis from sucrose or partial enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis from inulin	8-10
Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides	β(2-1) fructans	Enzymatic (β-fructosidase) synthesis from sucrose or partial enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis from inulin	3-5
Galacto-oligosaccharides (oligogalactose)	Chains of galactose with some glucose	Enzymatic (β-galactosidases) synthesis from lactose	2-5
Soybean-oligosaccharides	Mainly galactose with presence of mannose, glucose, fructose, arabinose and xylose	Extraction from soybeans	3-4
Xylo-oligosaccharides	β(1-4)-linked xylose	Partial enzymatic (xylanases) hydrolysis of polyxylans polymers from vegetables and fruits	2-10
Lactitol	4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-glucitol	Hydrogenation of lactose	2
Lactulose	Galactose and fructose	Isomerisation of lactose	2

dp, degree of polymerisation.

Table 2. Fructan content of some vegetable raw materials.

Vegetable	Moshfegh et al. (1999)		Campbell et al. (1997)
	Inulin, g/100 g of as is	OF, g/100 g of as is	Short-chain FOS, g/100 g of DM
Artichoke, globe	4.4	0.4	2.2
Banana	0.5	0.5	0.6
Barley	0.8	0.8	1.9
Chicory root	41.6	22.9	2.1
Jerusalem artichoke	18.0	13.5	28.6
Oats	-	-	0.4
Onion powder	18.3	18.3	4.8
Peas	-	-	0.8
Potato, sweet	-	-	0.1
Rye	-	-	4.1
Wheat	-		1.4
Wheat bran	2.5	2.5	4.0

OF, oligofructose; FOS, fructooligosaccharides; DM, dry matter.

Table 3. Effects of prebiotic administration on composition of canine faecal microbiota.

Reference	Prebiotic used	Level of inclusion, g/kg	Method of determination	Lactobacilli	Bifidobacteria	C. perfringens	Total clostridia	E. coli/coliforms
Howard et al., ^2000^°	scFOS	15	Selective media	↔	↔	ND	↑	↔
Strickling et al., 2000	FOS	5		↔	↔	↔		↔
	MOS	5	Selective media	↔	↔	↓	ND	↔
	XOS	5		↔	↔	↔		↔
Willard et al., 2000	FOS	10	Selective media	↔	↔	ND	↔	↔
Flickinger et al., 2003b	OF	9	Selective media	↔	↔	↓	ND	ND
Middelbos et al., 2007a	scFOS+dried yeast	12+3	DNA analysis	↑	↑	↔	ND	↔
	scFOS+dried yeast	9+6		↑	↑	↔	ND	↔
Barry et al., 2009	scFOS	2 and 4	DNA analysis	↔	↔	↔	ND	↔
	Inulin	2 and 4		↔	↔	↔	ND	↔
Biagi et al., 2010	Lactitol	10	Selective media	↔	NR	↓	ND	↓
Beloshapka et al., 2012	Polydextrose	5, 10 and 15	DNA analysis	↔	↔	↓	ND	↔

scFOS, short-chain fructooligosaccharides; ND, not determined; FOS, fructooligosaccharides; MOS, mannanoligosaccharides; XOS, xylooligosaccharides; OF, oligofructose; NR, not recovered.

°Bacterial counts were conducted on intestinal digesta.

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