Amelioration of the adverse effect of a gastrointestinal challenge with Salmonella enteritidis on weanling rats by a yogurt diet.
The response of yogurt-fed rats and the corresponding unfermented milk-fed rats to an infectious gastrointestinal challenge has been compared. After 1 (2 trials), 7 (4 trials), 14 and 21 (1 trial each) days on freeze-dried milk or yogurt diets, the rats were inoculated intra-gastrically by intubation per os with 4.5 X 10(10) +/- 0.7 colony forming units (mean +/- SEM) of Salmonella enteritidis. Challenged and control rats were monitored during the 3 weeks post-inoculation for viability, weight gain, feed consumption, and feed efficiency. In general, challenged yogurt-fed rats exhibited significantly superior weight gain and feed efficiency (but not feed consumption) values in week 1 post-infection, but the differences were not significant in week 2 post-infection. Sick milk- and yogurt-fed rats convalesced in week 3. Pooled mortality data indicated that yogurt-fed rats survived better than milk-fed rats. Yogurt did not prevent salmonellosis per se but significantly reduced the mortality and weight gain deceleration.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002417:Cattle; D003611:Dairy Products; D004032:Diet; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis; D015014:Yogurt