Long‐Term Consumption of High Protein Disrupts Dog Gut Microbiome and Metabolites

Abstract

There are controversial views on the optimum level of protein required by adult dogs. According to the guidelines by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, adult maintenance dog foods must contain a minimum of 18% protein based on dry matter. However, there are varying levels of protein in commercial dog foods ranging from 18% to over 60%. We conducted a study to evaluate the impact of a long‐term consumption of low (18.99%), medium (25.34%) and high (45.77%) protein foods on the body composition, metabolites and gut microbial composition of 30 adult dogs. All dogs were maintained on a prefeed food for 14 days and were randomly assigned to one of the 6 different groups of 5 dogs. Each group consumed the low, medium and high protein foods, each for 90 days, in a distinct sequence following the William's Latin Square Design. Body composition and levels of metabolites and microbial composition were assessed at the end of each 90 days feeding period. The body composition of the dogs was not affected by the varying levels of protein consumption. However, dogs had increased circulating levels of urea and indole sulfates after the consumption of the high protein food compared to the lower protein levels. High protein consumption also led to increased fecal levels of indole and branched‐chain fatty acids and reduced levels of the short‐chain fatty acids butyrate, propionate and lactic acid. Further, the consumption of high protein food increased the proportions of the genera Clostridium and Streptococcus that are implicated to have negative health associations. This was accompanied by a reduction in the beneficial bacteria belonging to the genera Prevotella and Bifidobacterium. The results suggest that long‐term consumption of high protein foods is associated with negative microbial and metabolic profiles.Support or Funding InformationThe study was funded by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. Topeka, Kansas, United States of AmericaThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.