Animal Microbiome

Table 1 Feline fecal characteristics and metabolite concentrations and apparent total tract nutrient digestibility of experimental diets

From: Dietary enrichment of resistant starches or fibers differentially alter the feline fecal microbiome and metabolite profile

	Dietary treatment			SEM	P-value
	ERS¹	FPPB	iFPPB	SEM	Treatment	ERS vs. FPPB and iFPPB
Characteristics
pH	4.87^a	5.63^b	5.97^b	0.12	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Fecal score²	3.6^b	3.2^ab	2.7^a	0.20	0.0001	0.0002
Fecal DM (%)	25.6^a	28.2^ab	31.6^b	1.26	0.0008	0.0013
Digestibility	%
Dry matter	72.0^a	78.4^b	76.9^b	1.380	< 0.01	< 0.01
Organic matter	73.8^a	82.2^b	81.4^b	1.305	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Crude protein	68.0^a	80.3^b	83.3^b	1.295	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Acid-hydrolyzed fat	87.7^a	90.0^b	91.4^b	1.076	< 0.01	< 0.01
Total dietary fiber	30.4^a	30.0^a	39.3^b	2.918	0.05	0.25
Energy	74.3^a	83.1^b	83.1^b	1.270	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Metabolites	µmol/g DM
Total SCFA	554.1	602.6	529.2	35.66	0.3583	0.7859
Acetate	290.0	353.0	329.1	23.36	0.1101	0.0498
Propionate	51.9^a	125.1^b	139.8^b	6.69	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Butyrate	212.2^c	124.5^b	60.3^a	18.40	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Total BCFA	36.3^a	50.5^b	41.0^ab	3.77	0.0417	0.0478
Isobutyrate	1.9^a	4.5^b	5.8^b	0.49	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Isovalerate	3.7^a	6.6^b	8.5^b	0.70	0.0002	0.0001
Valerate	30.7^ab	39.5^b	26.8^a	3.36	0.0370	0.5508
Total phenols and indoles	0.05^a	1.18^b	1.42^b	0.21	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
4-methylphenol	0.05^a	0.54^b	0.89^b	0.11	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Indole	0.00^a	0.06^ab	0.21^b	0.05	0.0090	0.0254
Ammonia	65.1^a	105.6^b	127.3^b	8.31	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Fecal IgA, mg/g	16.8^b	13.9^b	7.9^a	1.59	0.0002	0.0010

¹Diets enriched in resistant starch (ERS), a fiber-prebiotic-probiotic blend (FPPB), or a fiber-prebiotic-probiotic blend + immuno-modulating ingredients (iFPPB).²Fecal score: 1 = hard, dry pellets; small hard mass; 2 = hard formed, dry stool; remains firm and soft; 3 = soft, formed and moist stool, retains shape; 4 = soft, unformed stool; assumes shape of container; 5 = watery, liquid that can be poured
^a,b Mean values within a row with unlike superscript letters differ (P < 0.05)

Back to article page

ISSN: 2524-4671

Contact us

Submission enquiries: journalsubmissions@springernature.com