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. 2025 Jan 4:103:skaf056.
doi: 10.1093/jas/skaf056.

A specific blend of prebiotics and postbiotics improved the gut microbiome of dogs with soft stools in the in vitro Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem

Cindy Duysburgh  1 , Celine Nicolas  2 , Mattia Van den Broeck  1 , Fanny Lloret  2 , Patricia Monginoux  2 , Christophe Rème  2 , Massimo Marzorati  1   3
Affiliations

A specific blend of prebiotics and postbiotics improved the gut microbiome of dogs with soft stools in the in vitro Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem

Cindy Duysburgh et al. J Anim Sci. .

Abstract

The Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SCIME) allows for the study of the long-term effects of food, supplements, or ingredients on the canine gut microbiome in a simulated proximal and distal colon. This model has been used to evaluate the impact of repeated administration of a test product blend composed of a mixture of baobab fruit pulp, acacia gum, heat-killed Lactobacillus helveticus HA-122, and specific fractions of selected inactivated yeast strains (including Saccharomyces cerevisiae AQP 12260 and AQP 12988 and Cyberlindnera jadinii AQP 12549), on the activity and composition of the gut microbiome of canine donors with soft stools. The SCIME colonic reactors were inoculated with fecal material from 3 different canine donors. After 2 d of stabilization, the 8-d parallel control/treatment period was initiated; reactors were fed with SCIME nutritional medium with or without test product. Changes in microbial metabolic activity were assessed by measuring levels of acetate, propionate, butyrate, lactate, branched short-chain fatty acids, and ammonium. Changes in microbial community composition were assessed using 16S-targeted Illumina sequencing. Overall, test product supplementation resulted in increased saccharolytic fermentation, as evidenced by increases in the health-promoting bacterial metabolites such as propionate (donor-dependent), acetate, and butyrate (donor-dependent) as well as increased abundances of several saccharolytic fermenting microbes, including Bifidobacterium. Conversely, proteolytic bacteria like Proteobacteria were reduced with the test product compared to control. Repeated supplementation with the test product was therefore able to induce-in vitro-a positive modulation of the microbiome originated from dogs with soft stools.

Keywords: Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem; dog; in vitro simulation; intestinal health.

Plain language summary

Dogs with digestion problems can have an unbalanced digestive flora. This means the proportion of healthy and unhealthy bacteria that live in their gut is not well balanced. We used an experimental model to mimic the gut bacteria of dogs with soft stools. In the model, we looked at how a test product affected the gut bacteria. The test product was a mixture of baobab fruit pulp, acacia gum, a heat-killed bacteria called Lactobacillus helveticus HA-122, and parts of specific yeast strains that are no longer alive. When the test product was added, the bacteria made more healthy products like propionate compared to when it was not added. Other healthy products were increased depending on the dog’s original microbiota. The types of bacteria in the model were also different depending on whether the test product was added. There was an increase in beneficial bacteria when the test product can improve the gut flora of dogs with soft stools and this effect may vary depending on the original flora of the animal.

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Conflict of interest statement

C.N., F.L., P.M., and C.R. are employees of Virbac SA.

Figures

Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic representation of the experimental design making use of a SCIME inoculated with the microbiota of 3 dogs with soft stools. The microbiota of each dog has been used to inoculate 2 systems, one acting as a control and the other treated with the test product. After 2 d of stabilization, the test product has been dosed in the ‘treatment’ arm of the study (D0). Samples for all analytical endpoints have been collected on D1, D3, D5, and D8 both in the proximal (PC) and distal colon (DC). bSCFA, branched short-chain fatty acid; D, day; DC, distal colon; PC, proximal colon; SCIME, Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem; SCFA, short-chain fatty acid; ST/SI, stomach/small intestine reactor.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Microbial metabolic activity over time (D1, D3, D5, D8) in the proximal (PC) and distal colon (DC) of the SCIME is shown as changes in (A) acetate, (B) propionate, (C) butyrate, and (D) lactate concentrations. Each measurement was performed in a single repetition. Data for average values were derived using data from 3 canine donors. A 2-way ANOVA for repeated measures was used to compare the effect of repeated administration between control and treatment (interaction). *P < 0.05. D, day; DC, distal colon; PC, proximal colon; SCIME, Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Microbial metabolic activity over time (D1, D3, D5, D8) in the proximal (PC) and distal colon (DC) of the SCIME is shown as changes in (A) bSCFA and (B) ammonium concentrations. Each measurement was performed in a single repetition. Data for average values were derived using data from 3 canine donors. A 2-way ANOVA for repeated measures were used to compare the effect of repeated administration between control and treatment (interaction). *P < 0.05. bSCFA, branched short-chain fatty acid; D, day; DC, distal colon; PC, proximal colon; SCIME, Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Discriminant analysis of principal components showing differences in community composition following treatment with the test product or control for the 3 canine donors in the SCIME model (days 1, 3, 5, and 8). Control, n = 12; test product, n = 12. Each dot represents one sample. DC, distal colon; PC, proximal colon; SCIME, Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Jitter plots showing average abundances (log2 abundances) across all donors at the phylum level in the proximal (PC) and distal colon (DC). Data for average values were derived using data from 3 canine donors across all timepoints (D1, D3, D5, and D8). DC, distal colon; PC, proximal colon; SCIME, Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Differential abundance analysis at days 1, 3, 5, and 8 in the proximal (PC) and distal colon (DC) across 3 canine donors using treeclimbR analysis. The analysis is based on relative abundance data (total sum scaling). The scatter plot classifies taxa into 4 categories based on abundances in the compared conditions: biologically and statistically significant (square), biologically significant but not statistically significant (triangle), neither biologically nor statistically significant (round), or statistically significant but not biologically significant (star) for the difference between test product and control. DC, distal colon; PC, proximal colon; SCIME, Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem.
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