The supplementation of female dogs with live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM I-1079 acts as gut stabilizer at whelping and modulates immunometabolic phenotype of the puppies.

Time around parturition is a stressful period for both bitches and their puppies. The use of probiotics has been proposed, e.g., in pigs, to improve health status of sows, their reproductive performances and in turn, the health and performance of their progeny. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact, on both dams and puppies, of a supplementation of bitches with the live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM I-1079 (SB-1079) during the second part of the gestation and the lactation period. A total of 36 bitches of medium and large-sized breeds were enrolled. They were divided into two groups, one of which received 1.3 × 109 colony forming units of live yeast per day. At dam's level, SB-1079 yeast shaped a different microbiota structure between the two groups just after whelping, impacted alpha diversity and some plasma metabolites related to energy metabolism. Regarding reproductive performances, SB-1079 improved gross energy of the colostrum (1.4 vs. 1.2 kcal of ME/g) as well as the concentration of protein in milk at Day 7 after parturition (10.4 vs. 7.6%). SB-1079 also reduced the odds of having low birth weight in the litter. At puppy's level, a modulation of immunometabolic phenotype is suggested by the observation of increased growth rates during the early pediatric period (i.e., between 21 and 56 days of life, 225 vs. 190%) and a decrease of the IL-8:IL-10 ratio after vaccination against rabies (4.2 vs. 16.9). Our findings suggest that SB-1079 supplementation during gestation and lactation has the potential to enhance health of bitches and in turn health of puppies through maternal programming.

Composition and evolution of the gut microbiota of growing puppies is impacted by their birth weight.

Low birth weight puppies present an increased risk of neonatal mortality, morbidity, and some long-term health issues. Yet it has not been investigated if those alterations could be linked to the gut microbiota composition and evolution. 57 puppies were weighed at birth and rectal swabs were performed at 5 time points from birth to 28 days of age. Puppies were grouped into three groups based on their birth weight: low birth weight (LBW), normal birth weight (NBW) and high birth weight (HBW). 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to highlight differences in the fecal microbiota. During the first three weeks, the relative abundance of facultative anaerobic bacteria such as E. coli, C. perfringens and Tyzzerella was higher in LBW feces, but they catch back with the other groups afterwards. HBW puppies showed higher abundances of Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides during the neonatal period, suggesting an earlier maturation of their microbiota. The results of this study suggest that birth weight impact the initial establishment of the gut microbiota in puppies. Innovative strategies would be desired to deal with altered gut microbiota in low birth weight puppies aiming to improve their survival and long term health.

Sweet vs. Salty Former Food Products in Post-Weaning Piglets: Effects on Growth, Apparent Total Tract Digestibility and Blood Metabolites.

Former food products (FFPs) have a great potential to replace conventional feed ingredients. This study aimed to investigate the possibility to partially replace standard ingredients with two different types of FFPs: bakery (FFPs-B) or confectionary (FFPs-C) FFPs and their effects on growth performances, feed digestibility and metabolic status in post-weaning piglets. Thirty-six post-weaning piglets were randomly assigned to three experimental diets (n = 12 per diet) for 42 days: a standard diet (CTR), a diet where 30% of standard ingredients were replaced by confectionary FFPs (FFPs-C) and a diet where 30% of standard ingredients were replaced by bakery FFPs (FFPs-B). Individual body weight and fecal dry matter were measured weekly. Feed intake (FI) was determined daily. Average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. Fecal samples were collected daily for three days/week to determine apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter (ATTD). At day 0, 21 and 42, blood samples were collected from all the piglets. No significant differences (p > 0.05) between groups were found in growth performances and metabolic profile. However, ATTD in FFPs-B group was lower (p < 0.05) compared to the CTR group at the end of the experiment. This study confirmed the possibility to formulate homogeneous diets integrated with 30% of both categories of FFPs. Further investigations are needed to clarify the effects of bakery former food products on the digestibility of the diet.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for Food Waste: A Second Life for Fresh-Cut Leafy Salad Crops in Animal Diets.

The world's population is growing rapidly, which means that the environmental impact of food production needs to be reduced and that food should be considered as something precious and not wasted. Moreover, an urgent challenge facing the planet is the competition between the food produced for humans and the feed for animals. There are various solutions such as the use of plant/vegetable by-products (PBPs) and former foodstuffs, which are the co/by-products of processing industries, or the food losses generated by the food production chain for human consumption. This paper reviews the by-co-products derived from the transformation of fresh-cut leafy salad crops. A preliminary nutritional evaluation of these materials is thus proposed. Based on their composition and nutritional features, in some cases similar to fresh forage and grasses, this biomass seems to be a suitable feedstuff for selected farm animals, such as ruminants. In conclusion, although the present data are not exhaustive and further studies are needed to weigh up the possible advantages and disadvantages of these materials, fresh-cut leafy salad crops represent a potential unconventional feed ingredient that could help in exploiting the circular economy in livestock production, thereby improving sustainability.