Bacterial flora in the duodenum of healthy cats, and effect of dietary supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharides.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate changes in the duodenal flora of healthy cats over time, and evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS).


METHODS
12 healthy, barrier-maintained, specific-pathogen-free cats.


METHODS
Duodenal juice for bacteriologic examination was collected via oral endoscopy 5 times from each cat over a 32-week period. Cats were allotted randomly to 2 groups, and a crossover design study, during which they were fed either a replete dry (basal) diet or, for 12 consecutive weeks, basal diet supplemented with 0.75% FOS, was done. Samples (3 from cats fed the basal and 2 from cats fed the FOS diet) were collected for a minimum of 6 weeks after commencement of feeding, and a minimum of 6 weeks apart.


RESULTS
Mean aerobic, anaerobic, and total bacterial counts did not differ significantly among sample collection times. After pooling of the results, mean (+/- SD) log10 colony-forming units (CFU) of aerobic, anaerobic, and total bacteria/ml were 5.5 +/- 1.1, 4.8 +/- 1.0 and 5.6 +/- 1.1, respectively. However, individual cats had considerable variation in counts: mean (range) intraindividual coefficients of variation were: 19.0 (6.1 to 34.2), 19.9 (4.8 to 35.5), and 18.1 (5.5 to 32.6)%, respectively. In 1 cat, total bacterial count varied between < 3.0 and 6.3 CFU/ml. Bacterial flora varied qualitatively: only Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides, Pasteurella, and Streptococcus spp, and unidentified gram-negative (aerobic) rods were present in > 50% of the samples.


CONCLUSIONS
Wide quantitative and qualitative variation in the duodenal flora of healthy cats was observed over time, which was not affected by dietary supplementation with FOS.
Sparkes
A H
AH
Feline Centre, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, United Kingdom.
Papasouliotis
K
K
Sunvold
G
G
Werrett
G
G
Clarke
C
C
Jones
M
M
Gruffydd-Jones
T J
TJ
Reinhart
G
G
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002415:Cats / Q000382:microbiology*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004386:Duodenum / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005527:Food, Fortified; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009919:Orchiectomy; D012016:Reference Values
D009844:Oligosaccharides