Dose-Dependent Effects of Dietary Xylooligosaccharides Supplementation on Microbiota, Fermentation and Metabolism in Healthy Adult Cats

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 21; p. 5030
• Main Authors: Lyu, Yang, Debevere, Sandra, Bourgeois, Hermann, Ran, Mavis, Broeckx, Bart J G, Vanhaecke, Lynn, Wiele, Tom Van de, Hesta, Myriam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 29-10-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Abundance; Animal Feed; Animals; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - growth & development; Blood; Blood levels; Carbohydrates; Carnitine; Cats; Cellulose; Diabetes; Diet; Dosage; Fatty acids; Feces; Feces - microbiology; Female; Fermentation; Fibroblasts; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Glucuronates - pharmacology; gut health; Metabolism; Metabolites; microbiome; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Nutrient deficiency; Nutrition research; Oligosaccharides - pharmacology; Phenols; Populations; Prebiotics; Species richness; Trends; xylooligosaccharides (XOS); gut health; prebiotics; cats; xylooligosaccharides (XOS); microbiome
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules25215030

In order to investigate the effect and appropriate dose of prebiotics, this study evaluated the effect of two levels of xylooligosaccharides (XOS) in cats. Twenty-four healthy adult cats were divided into three groups: no-XOS control diet with 1% cellulose; low XOS supplementation (LXOS) with 0.04% XOS and 0.96% cellulose; and high XOS supplementation (HXOS) with 0.40% XOS and 0.60% cellulose. Both XOS groups increased blood 3-hydroxybutyryl carnitine levels and decreased hexadecanedioyl carnitine levels. Both XOS treatments displayed an increased bacterial abundance of
,
XI, and
and a decreased abundance of
and
. LXOS groups increased fecal pH and bacterial abundance of
and
, decreased blood glutaryl carnitine concentration, and
abundance. HXOS group showed a more distinct microbiome profile and higher species richness, and an increased bacterial abundance of
,
genus (unassigned genus),
genus, and
. Correlations between bacterial abundances and blood and fecal parameters were also observed. In conclusion, XOS could benefit feline gut health by altering microbiota; its effects dependant on the dose. The higher-dose XOS increased bacterial populations that possibly promoted intestinal fermentation, while the lower dose altered populations of carbohydrate-metabolic microbiota and possibly modulated host metabolism. Low-dose prebiotics may become a trend in future studies.