Feeding Microbiome-Targeting Ingredients Increases Fecal Plant-Origin Antioxidants and Anti-Inflammatory Compounds, and Decreases Branched-Chained Amino Acids in Cats

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Inflammatory and oxidative processes play an important role in the maintenance of digestive health and progression of diseases. This study was performed to evaluate changes in fecal microbiota, metabolites, and post-biotics associated with increasing dietary concentrations of ingredients targeting the gut microbiota. Methods Fifty-six healthy adult cats were fed for four weeks on a complete and balanced adult cat food. After the four weeks, cats were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups for the next 28-day feeding period: Control─continued feeding of the pretrial food; C + 1─fed a food similar to the control food with 1% enhanced fiber mix; C + 2─fed a food similar to the control food with 2% enhanced fiber mix; and C + 4─fed a food similar to the control food with 4% enhanced fiber mix. The fiber mix contained pecan shells, beet pulp, cranberry pomace, flaxseed, and citrus pulp. Fecal samples were collected after prefeeding, after 10 days on test foods, and at the end of the 28-day feeding period. Fecal samples were analyzed for: microbiota by 16SrRNA amplicon sequencing using V3-V4 hypervariable regions (performed in-house), short chain fatty acids and metabolomics analyzed by Metabolon, Durham, NC. Significance of P < 0.05 was used. Results There was an increase in the bacterium Faecalibacterium in cats eating C + 4% with no significant changes in the other treatment groups. There was a decrease in the abundance of branched chain fatty acids in the C + 4% group with no significant changes in the other treatment groups. The saccharolytic sugar arabinose was increased in both the C + 2% and C + 4% groups. There was an increase in many antioxidant and anti-inflammatory plant compounds and their respective post-biotics in cats fed test foods. Conclusions Increased arabinose concurrent with decreased branched chain fatty acids suggests a shift from proteolytic to saccharolytic metabolism by the GI microbiome. The transformation of fiber polyphenols into sugars, and derived polyphenols into compounds having increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potency, suggests that these ingredients nourish and activate the colonic microbiome to improve GI health. Funding Sources Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.