J Dairy Sci
Center for One Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, South Korea. Electronic address:
Published: May 2019
Kefir is a traditional dairy product with multiple probiotic characteristics derived from its associated microorganisms, including more than 50 species of lactic acid bacteria and yeast. For centuries, many people have produced kefir for human consumption; its consumption and potential role as a probiotic supplement in companion animals have never been tested. The present study explored the potential application of kefir as a probiotic supplement for dogs. Kefir was orally administered to healthy adult dogs (n = 6) for 2 wk. On d 0 and 14 (before and after kefir consumption, respectively), gut microbiota was analyzed comprehensively using quantitative PCR and 16S rDNA amplicon-based community analysis using fresh fecal samples. The 16S rDNA amplicon-based community analysis showed that the relative abundance of the phylum Fusobacteria was significantly decreased after kefir consumption. Furthermore, the relative abundance of the families Prevotellaceae, Selenomonadaceae, and Sutterellaceae increased significantly, whereas that of the families Clostridiaceae, Fusobacteriaceae, and Ruminococcaceae decreased significantly. The quantitative PCR assay showed that kefir consumption significantly increased the population of lactic acid bacteria and the lactic acid bacteria:Enterobacteriaceae ratio and significantly decreased the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. In summary, 2-wk kefir administration successfully modified the gut microbiota without causing any clinically evident adverse effects. Therefore, kefir could be further developed as a novel probiotic food supplement for dogs to improve the quality of life of dogs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2018-15639 | DOI Listing |
J Anim Sci
January 2023
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801USA.
Kefir is a fermented dairy beverage that has been consumed by humans for centuries, but poorly studied in pets. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of commercial or traditional kefir supplementation on apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility (ATTD) and fecal characteristics, microbiota populations, and metabolite and immunoglobulin (Ig) A concentrations of healthy adult dogs. Twelve healthy adult dogs (5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Anim Sci
September 2020
Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
Kefir is a fermented beverage containing yeast and bacteria produced by the fermentation of water or milk with kefir grains. Lack of regulation for probiotic-containing fermented food sold for companion dogs and cats creates the potential for misreporting on viable microbial counts, taxonomy, and label claims. In this study, the microbiota of six companion animal kefir products were measured quantitatively using standard plating techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Vet Sci
April 2020
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano Dell'Emilia, Italy.
The increasing incidence of gastrointestinal tract pathologies in dogs and the worrisome topic of antibiotic resistance have raised the need to look for new therapeutic frontiers. Of these, the use of probiotics represents a potential therapeutic alternative. () is a species of isolated from kefir.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Dairy Sci
May 2019
Center for One Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, South Korea. Electronic address:
Kefir is a traditional dairy product with multiple probiotic characteristics derived from its associated microorganisms, including more than 50 species of lactic acid bacteria and yeast. For centuries, many people have produced kefir for human consumption; its consumption and potential role as a probiotic supplement in companion animals have never been tested. The present study explored the potential application of kefir as a probiotic supplement for dogs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!
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