This study assessed changes in canine fecal metabolites and microbiota with the consumption of foods with increasing concentrations of a fiber bundle including pecan shells, flax seed, and powders of cranberry, citrus, and beet that was previously shown (at 14% w/w) to improve stool quality, shift fecal bacterial metabolism from proteolysis to saccharolysis, increase abundance of saccharolytic bacteria, and decrease abundance of proteolytic bacteria. In this study, 48 healthy adult dogs were split evenly to consume different inclusion levels (0%, 1%, 2%, and 4%) of the fiber bundle for a 31-day period following a 28-day pre-feed period. Increases from baseline in the fecal short-chain fatty acids butyric acid, valeric acid, and hexanoic acid were observed only in the dogs that consumed the food with the 4% fiber bundle. With addition of any level of the fiber bundle, increases were seen in the polyphenols hesperidin, hesperetin, ponciretin, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, secoisolariciresinol, and enterodiol. However, fecal microbiota and their metabolism, and stool scores were largely unaffected by the fiber bundle. Overall, addition of the fiber bundle appeared to increase bioactive metabolites of increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potency for beneficial to health and, at levels ≥4%, shifted gut bacterial metabolism toward saccharolysis.
Keywords: anti-inflammatory; bioactive metabolites; canine; fiber bundle; microbiota; short-chain fatty acids.