Effects of selected functional ingredients on systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, fecal metabolites and microbiota, and the metabolomic profile of adult cats

The main focus of a feline diet is to supply essential nutrients necessary for meeting metabolic requirements; however, beyond fulfilling nutritional needs, recent research supports the notion that diets can influence various bodily functions, and potentially reduce the risk of disease development. Functional ingredients have significantly diversified pet food products, and the incorporation of them in the diets may enable the support of functional and structural claims in commercial pet foods. Claims associated with functional ingredients encompass areas such as gastrointestinal (GI) health, immune modulation, skin and coat health, weight management, and more. The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the effects of selected functional ingredients on systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, fecal metabolites and microbiota, and the metabolomic profile of adult cats. This dissertation had 3 aims, the first was to evaluate the longitudinal effects of daily supplementation of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis CECT 8145, and its heat-treated version on biometrical measurements, fecal fermentative end-product concentrations, fecal microbiota, serum oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, white blood cell gene expression, and microbiota of adult cats. The second aim was to evaluate the longitudinal effects of daily supplementation of incremental levels of a selected yeast extract on fecal fermentative end products and microbiota, oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers, and skin and coat quality of adult cats. The third and last aim was to investigate the effects of yeast extract, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, supplementation on the plasma and fecal metabolomic profile of healthy adult cats. The probiotic supplementation revealed an increase (P <0.05) on Bifidobacterium animalis after 90 days of supplementation with the live product. Postbiotic supplementation, on the other hand, had an increased (P < 0.05) fecal butyrate concentration when compared with the probiotic fed cats. Both probiotic and postbiotic had comparable serum cytokine concentrations. Cats fed control diet had higher (P < 0.05) RANTES serum concentration when compared with both PRO and POST groups. The CON group also presented higher (P < 0.05) serum concentration of IL-12 compared with POST group; finally cats fed POST had higher (P < 0.05) serum concentration of GM-CSF, chemokine, compared with CON. Cats fed different dosages of yeast extract had their microbiome abundance affected by the diet. The HIGH fed cats presented a higher relative abundance of Colidextribacter and Romboutsia taxa after 42 days of supplementation, when compared with the CON group. Skin and coat score assessment also revealed a main treatment effect for gloss and overall coat quality. Cats fed LOW dosage had lower (P < 0.05) scores for both measurements when compared with CON. Metabolomic analysis of plasma and fecal samples of cats fed yeast extract showed a higher impact on lipid metabolism. Metabolites associated with monoacylglycerols and fatty acid synthesis had a lower fold change (P < 0.05). While phosphatidic acid metabolites had higher fold change (P < 0.05) in the Yeast group when compared with Control in plasma samples. In fecal samples it was observed a fold change increase (P < 0.05) on fatty acids, endocannabinoids, and secondary bile acid in Yeast fed cats compared with CON. Overall the different functional ingredients supplementation had no adverse effects in cat’s health, where pro and postbiotic showed potential to enhance GI tract health, by modulating cytokine concentration, microbiota population, and SCFA production, while yeast extract had a positive impact on liver health, coat quality, microbiota modulation, and lipid metabolism. Functional ingredients discussed in this dissertation showed overall potential for feline health support.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nutritional Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Miranda de Souza Junior, Sergio

Contributors dc:contributor

• Cattai de Godoy, Maria R.
• Swanson, Kelly S.
• Fahey, George C.
• Pan, Yuan-Xiang

• Cytokines
• Feline
• Microbiota
• Postbiotics
• Probiotics
• Yeast

Statement dc:rights

• © 2023 Sergio Miranda de Souza Junior

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122250

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F122250