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A partnership between C2VN's CriBioM platform and lallemand's Animal Nutrition business unit.
A probiotic for better puppy health
Why is feeding so important in the early days of a puppy's life?
Despite advances in veterinary medicine, neonatal mortality remains high in the canine species, and therefore has a significant impact on breeders. In fact, almost one in ten puppies born alive dies before the age of two months. Various risk factors have been identified, including low birth weight, which in addition to being associated with an increased risk of neonatal mortality, has longer-term health effects such as overweight. A puppy's birth weight is a reflection of its intra-uterine growth, the quality of which depends in part on the mother's diet, which, by providing all the macro- and micro-nutrients, ensures the good health of pregnant bitches. This will ensure the healthy development of their puppies, from the beginning of gestation to the end of the nursing period. Particular attention must be paid to the puppies' first three weeks of life (neonatal period), as this is when they are most sensitive. This is also the period during which their intestinal microbiota develops and contributes to the proper development of the digestive system.
Did you say microbiota?
The intestinal microbiota is the collection of microorganisms (archaea, bacteria and yeasts) in the gastrointestinal tract. It is now considered the equivalent of a new organ, essential to the survival of its host. Indeed, these micro-organisms share a deep bond with their host, providing it with metabolic properties crucial to its health, which it does not have. The intestinal microbiota thus contributes to the assimilation of nutrients, the modulation of vital functions such as digestion, the production of key metabolites or the stimulation of the immune system. The composition of the intestinal microbiota can be affected by many factors, including age, diet and environment, as well as maternal factors. While understanding of the factors involved in the formation of the human gut microbiota is progressing rapidly, knowledge is still limited when it comes to companion and farm animals.
Study of the effect of a probiotic on dogs
As part of a collaboration between Lallemand and the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, a study was carried out to assess the beneficial effects of a probiotic, produced by Lallemand, on bitches and their puppies. The study was carried out on a breeding farm with bitches of different breeds. Once gestation had been confirmed, the bitches were supplemented with the probiotic twice a day until the puppies were weaned (2 months after whelping). Various parameters were assessed, including the microbiota, analyzed by Lallemand, and the metabolome. For this second part, Lallemand collaborated with the CriBioM platform at C2VN (Aix-Marseille University), responsible for identifying the impact of probiotics on biomarkers, known as metabolites, in the animals' blood and urine. The latter involved cutting-edge metabolomics studies using mass spectrometry. This technique makes it possible to study small molecules charged according to their mass/charge ratio (fatty acids, amino acids, alcohols, phenolic compounds, etc.), which represent the end products of metabolism and reflect the general state of the animal. In addition, its precision makes it possible to evaluate the metabolites produced by micro-organisms, even in small quantities. All metabolites (known as the metabolome) were explored and compared between groups of animals. The researchers tried to identify differences in metabolome between puppies with low birth weights and those with higher birth weights, or between puppies born to probiotic-treated females and those born to unsupplemented bitches.
Promising results
Analysis of all the data produced is still underway. However, initial results on the microbiota have shown that low-birth-weight puppies have a lower bacterial richness and a higher abundance of opportunistic bacteria during the first three weeks of life, making them more susceptible to intestinal disorders. The proposed hypothesis is that the difference in microbiota observed in low-birth-weight puppies will impact on oxygen consumption in the digestive tract. The higher level of oxygen in the gut of low-birth-weight puppies would favor facultative anaerobic bacteria and delay the establishment of strict anaerobic bacteria (which cannot establish themselves in the presence of oxygen), which are favorable to gut maturation. This delay would ultimately explain the increased prevalence of intestinal disorders in low-birth-weight puppies. In addition, metabolome analysis data produced by the CriBioM platform suggest that puppies born to probiotic-treated mothers digest mother's milk better, potentially as a result of a more favorable intestinal microbiota.
This innovative multi-disciplinary study highlighted the relationship between puppies' health and their intestinal microbiota. It also highlighted the beneficial effects of probiotics administered to bitches. Finally, the knowledge acquired on the composition and establishment of the microbiota in newborn puppies may also be useful in identifying nutritional solutions to limit problems during the neonatal period in the canine species, such as Lallemand's probiotic. The results will be the subject of several scientific articles, one of which, on the development of the microbiota in puppies, has already been published.
Composition and evolution of the gut microbiota of growing puppies is impacted by their birth weight. Garrigues Q., Apper E., Rodiles A., Rovere N., Chastant S. and Mila H. Sci Rep 13, 14717 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41422-9