Effect of feeding a selected combination of galacto-oligosaccharides and a strain of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum on the intestinal microbiota of cats

Objective-To evaluate the growth kinetics of a strain of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (BP) on 4 oligo- or polysaccharides and the effect of feeding a selected probiotic-prebiotic combination on intestinal microbiota in cats. Animals-10 healthy adult cats. Procedures-Growth kinetics of a strain of cat-origin BP (BP-B82) on fructo-oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), lactitol, or pectins was determined, and the combination of GOS and BP-B82 was selected. Cats received supplemental once-daily feeding of 1% GOS BP-B82 (10(10) CFUs/d) for 15 days; fecal samples were collected for analysis the day before (day 0) and 1 and 10 days after the feeding period (day 16 and 25, respectively). Results-Compared with the prefeeding value, mean fecal ammonia concentration was significantly lower on days 16 and 25 (288 and 281 mu mol/g of fecal dry matter [fDM], respectively, vs 353 mu mol/g of fDM); fecal acetic acid concentration was higher on day 16 (171 mu mol/g of fDM vs 132 mu mol/g of fDM). On day 16, fecal concentrations of lactic, n-valeric, and isovaleric acids (3.61, 1.52, and 3.55 mu mol/g of fDM, respectively) were significantly lower than on days 0 (5.08, 18.4, and 6.48 mu mol/g of fDM, respectively) and 25 (4.24, 173, and 6.17 mu mol/g of fDM, respectively). A significant increase in fecal bifidobacteria content was observed on days 16 and 25 (7.98 and 7.52 log(10) CFUs/g of fDM, respectively), compared with the prefeeding value (5.63 log(10) CFUs/g of fDM). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results suggested that feeding 1% GOS BP-B82 combination had some positive effects on the intestinal microbiota in cats (Am J Vet Res 2013;74:90-95).