Are carnivore digestive separation mechanisms revealed on structure-rich diets?: Faecal inconsistency in dogs (Canis familiaris) fed day old chicks

Autor: An Cools, Myriam Hesta, Annelies De Cuyper, Marcus Clauss, Wouter H. Hendriks, Geert Janssens, Guido Bosch
Přispěvatelé: LS Voeding, University of Zurich
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
Metabolic Processes
10253 Department of Small Animals
Animal Nutrition
Physiology
lcsh:Medicine
Beagle
Biochemistry
MACRONUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY
Predation
FATTY-ACID PRODUCTION
Feces
Faecal consistency
Medicine and Health Sciences
Carnivore
IN-VITRO ANALYSES
lcsh:Science
CAPTIVE EXOTIC FELIDS
Defecation
chemistry.chemical_classification
Mammals
Multidisciplinary
biology
630 Agriculture
Ecology
digestive
oral
and skin physiology

Eukaryota
PARTICLE PASSAGE MARKERS
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
Diervoeding
Carnivory
Trophic Interactions
Canis
Community Ecology
Vertebrates
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Trophic interactions
Research Article
TOTAL TRACT ENERGY
Excretion
1100 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
03 medical and health sciences
Animal science
HEALTHY ADULT DOGS
Dogs
1300 General Biochemistry
Genetics and Molecular Biology

NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY
Animals
Life Science
Veterinary Sciences
Nutrition
1000 Multidisciplinary
HUMAN INTESTINAL BACTERIA
Wolves
lcsh:R
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
0402 animal and dairy science
Organisms
Fatty acid
Biology and Life Sciences
biology.organism_classification
Fatty Acids
Volatile

040201 dairy & animal science
Diet
Gastrointestinal Tract
030104 developmental biology
Metabolism
chemistry
Amniotes
Fermentation
WIAS
END-PRODUCT CONCENTRATIONS
570 Life sciences
lcsh:Q
Physiological Processes
Chickens
Zdroj: PLoS ONE 13 (2018) 2
PLOS ONE
PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE, 13(2)
PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 2, p e0192741 (2018)
PLoS One, 13(2). Public Library of Science
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Pronounced variations in faecal consistency have been described anecdotally for some carnivore species fed a structure-rich diet. Typically two faecal consistencies are distinguished, namely hard and firm versus liquid and viscous faeces. It is possible that a separation mechanism is operating in the carnivore digestive tract, as in many herbivore species. Six beagle dogs were fed two experimental diets in a cross-over design of 7 days. Test diets consisted of chunked day old chicks differing only in particle size (fine = 7.8 mm vs coarse = 13 mm) in order to vary dietary structure. Digestive retention time was measured using titanium oxide (TiO2) as marker. The total faecal output was scored for consistency and faecal fermentation profiles were evaluated through faecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and ammonia (NH3) analyses. A total of 181 faecal samples were collected. Dietary particle size did not affect faecal consistency, fermentative end products nor mean retention time (MRT). However, a faecal consistency dichotomy was observed with firm faeces (score 2 +/- 2.5) and soft faeces (score 4 +/- 4.5) being the most frequently occurring consistencies in an almost alternating pattern in every single dog. Firm and soft faeces differed distinctively in fermentative profiles. Although the structure difference between diets did not affect the faecal dichotomy, feeding whole prey provoked the occurrence of the latter which raises suspicion of a digestive separation mechanism in the canine digestive tract. Further faecal characterisation is however required in order to unravel the underlying mechanism.
Databáze: OpenAIRE