Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Extruded Commercial Cat Food.

The occurrence of the most important mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1 and B2, aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, T-2, and HT-2 toxins) was determined in 64 extruded cat foods purchased in Italy through ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Deoxynivalenol and fumonisins were the most common contaminants (quantified in 80 and 95% of the samples, respectively). Conversely, aflatoxins B2, G1, and G2 were not identified in any sample. Some cat foods exceeded the regulatory limit for aflatoxin B1 (n = 3) or the guidance values for zearalenone (n = 3), fumonisins (n = 2), ochratoxin A (n = 1), and T-2 (n = 1) recently established for pets in the European Union. A widespread co-occurrence of mycotoxins was observed (28, 42, and 8% of the samples contained quantifiable amounts of two, three, and four mycotoxins, respectively). This study describes criticisms regarding the mycotoxin issue in pet food and suggests an improvement of the monitoring of the pet food chain.

Influence of dietary protein and fructooligosaccharides on fecal fermentative end-products, fecal bacterial populations and apparent total tract digestibility in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Feeding dogs with diets rich in protein may favor putrefactive fermentations in the hindgut, negatively affecting the animal's intestinal environment. Conversely, prebiotics may improve the activity of health-promoting bacteria and prevent bacterial proteolysis in the colon. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with fructooligosaccharides (FOS) on fecal microbiota and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) in dogs fed kibbles differing in protein content. Twelve healthy adult dogs were used in a 4 × 4 replicated Latin Square design to determine the effects of four diets: 1) Low protein diet (LP, crude protein (CP) 229 g/kg dry matter (DM)); 2) High protein diet (HP, CP 304 g/kg DM); 3) Diet 1 + 1.5 g of FOS/kg; 4) Diet 2 + 1.5 g of FOS/kg. The diets contained silica at 5 g/kg as a digestion marker. Differences in protein content were obtained using different amounts of a highly digestible swine greaves meal. Each feeding period lasted 28 d, with a 12 d wash-out in between periods. Fecal samples were collected from dogs at 0, 21 and 28 d of each feeding period. Feces excreted during the last five days of each feeding period were collected and pooled in order to evaluate ATTD. RESULTS: Higher fecal ammonia concentrations were observed both when dogs received the HP diets (p < 0.001) and the supplementation with FOS (p < 0.05). The diets containing FOS resulted in greater ATTD of DM, Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, and Fe (p < 0.05) while HP diets were characterized by lower crude ash ATTD (p < 0.05). Significant interactions were observed between FOS and protein concentration in regards to fecal pH (p < 0.05), propionic acid (p < 0.05), acetic to propionic acid and acetic + n-butyric to propionic acid ratios (p < 0.01), bifidobacteria (p < 0.05) and ATTD of CP (p < 0.05) and Mn (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A relatively moderate increase of dietary protein resulted in higher concentrations of ammonia in canine feces. Fructooligosaccharides displayed beneficial counteracting effects (such as increased bifidobacteria) when supplemented in HP diets, compared to those observed in LP diets and, in general, improved the ATTD of several minerals.

In vitro influence of dietary protein and fructooligosaccharides on metabolism of canine fecal microbiota.

BACKGROUND: The present in vitro study investigated whether the utilization of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) may influence canine fecal microbial population in presence of diets differing in their protein content and digestibility. Fresh fecal samples were collected from five adult dogs, pooled, and incubated for 24 h with the undigested residue of three diets: 1, Low protein high digestibility diet (LP HD, crude protein (CP) 229 g/kg); 2, High protein high digestibility diet (HP HD, CP 304 g/kg); 3, High protein low digestibility diet (HP LD, CP 303 g/kg) that had been previously subjected to enzymatic digestion. In the in vitro fermentation study, there were six treatments: 1) LP HD; 2) HP HD 3) HP LD; 4) LP HD + FOS; 5) HP HD + FOS; 6) HP LD + FOS. Fructooligosaccharides were added at the final concentration of 1.5 g/L. Samples of fermentation fluid were collected at 6 and 24 h of incubation. RESULTS: Values of pH were reduced by FOS at 6 and 24 h (P < 0.001); conversely, low protein digestibility and high dietary protein level resulted in higher pH at both sampling times (P < 0.001). At 24 h, FOS lowered ammonia (-10%; P < 0.001) and resulted (P < 0.05) in higher concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) (+43%), acetic acid (+14%), propionic acid (+75%) and n-butyric acid (+372%). Conversely, at 24 h, low protein digestibility resulted (P < 0.01) in lower concentrations of acetic acid (-26%), propionic acid (-37%) and total VFA (-21%). Putrescine concentrations were increased at 6 and 24 h of fermentation by low protein digestibility (+21 and 22%, respectively; P < 0.05) and FOS (+18 and 24%, respectively; P < 0.01). After 24 h of fermentation, high dietary protein level resulted in lower counts of lactobacilli and enterococci (-0.5 and -0.7 log cells/mL, respectively; P < 0.05) whereas low protein digestibility tended to increase counts of C. perfringens (+0.2 log cells/mL; P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Results from the present study showed that diets rich in protein may exert negative influences on the canine intestinal ecosystem, slightly increasing the presence of ammonia and reducing counts of lactobacilli and enterococci. Moreover, the presence of poorly digestible protein resulted in lower concentrations of VFA. Conversely, administration of FOS may improve metabolism of canine intestinal microbiota, reducing ammonia concentrations and enhancing VFA production.

Effect of feeding a selected combination of galacto-oligosaccharides and a strain of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum on the intestinal microbiota of cats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the growth kinetics of a strain of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (BP) on 4 oligo- or polysaccharides and the effect of feeding a selected probiotic-prebiotic combination on intestinal microbiota in cats. ANIMALS: 10 healthy adult cats. PROCEDURES: Growth kinetics of a strain of cat-origin BP (BP-B82) on fructo-oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), lactitol, or pectins was determined, and the combination of GOS and BP-B82 was selected. Cats received supplemental once-daily feeding of 1% GOS-BP-B82 (10(10) CFUs/d) for 15 days; fecal samples were collected for analysis the day before (day 0) and 1 and 10 days after the feeding period (day 16 and 25, respectively). RESULTS: Compared with the prefeeding value, mean fecal ammonia concentration was significantly lower on days 16 and 25 (288 and 281 µmol/g of fecal dry matter [fDM], respectively, vs 353 µmol/g of fDM); fecal acetic acid concentration was higher on day 16 (171 µmol/g of fDM vs 132 µmol/g of fDM). On day 16, fecal concentrations of lactic, n-valeric, and isovaleric acids (3.61, 1.52, and 3.55 µmol/g of fDM, respectively) were significantly lower than on days 0 (5.08, 18.4, and 6.48 µmol/g of fDM, respectively) and 25 (4.24, 17.3, and 6.17 µmol/g of fDM, respectively). A significant increase in fecal bifidobacteria content was observed on days 16 and 25 (7.98 and 7.52 log(10) CFUs/g of fDM, respectively), compared with the prefeeding value (5.63 log(10) CFUs/g of fDM). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that feeding 1% GOS-BP-B82 combination had some positive effects on the intestinal microbiota in cats.

Meat and ham quality of Italian heavy pigs subjected to different illumination regimes.

In order to attain a good level of welfare pigs require a sufficient environmental illumination.Therefore minimum levels for light duration and light intensity are set up by the European legislation.Two independent and separate trials were aimed to determine whether an increase above the minimum mandatory levels of lighting duration (14 vs. 8 hours/day at 70 lux: trial A) or of light intensity (80 vs. 40 lux over a 12-hour lighting period: trial B) could modify the carcass traits and meat and cured hams quality of Italian heavy pigs (body weight at slaughtering of about 160 kg). Slaughtering parameters, fresh meat quality and fatty acid composition of raw thighs and cured hams were assessed. Pigs receiving the longer photoperiod showed a tendency (P < 0.1) toward a higher slaughtering body weight and a higher saturation degree (P < 0.01) of subcutaneous fat of the raw thighs, while cured hams deriving from pigs subjected to the higher illumination intensity showed a higher (P < 0.05) relative content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Our results indicate that, within a moderate range of light intensity and given an appropriate dark period for animal rest, neither a prolonged photoperiod nor a higher light intensity caused any negative effect on the carcass traits, meat or quality of long-cured hams.

The effects of two different light intensities on the production and behavioural traits of Italian heavy pigs.

Eighty Italian heavy pigs having an initial body weight of about 75 kg were allotted to two experimental groups: a low light intensity group (LL), in which pigs received the lowest level of illumination mandatory in piggeries (40 lux) and a high light intensity group (HL), in which pigs were exposed to a higher level of illumination (80 lux). For both groups the light phase lasted 12 hours per day. Pigs were slaughtered at about 160 kg body weight. Light intensity showed to have no effects on the growth traits, carcass parameters or neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio of heavy. With the exception of drinking (more frequently observed among LL pigs; P < 0.01) and sternal recumbency (more frequently observed among pigs belonging to HL group; P < 0.01), the behavioural observations, carried out on 20 pigs per group, indicated that light intensity did not affect the main behavioural traits of pigs. Agonistic interactions were significantly higher (P < 0.05) among pigs receiving a lower level of illumination (40 lux; LL group) and pigs exposed to the higher level of illumination (80 lux; HL group) showed a tendency (P < 0.1) towards a higher proportion of tactile social interactions. Our results confirm that a proper illumination level can be included among environmental conditions having a positive effect in order to preserve swine welfare.

Effect of a Lactobacillus animalis strain on composition and metabolism of the intestinal microflora in adult dogs.

Probiotics are microorganisms that are added to food to exert beneficial effects on the host. Aim of the present study was the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the effect of Lactobacillus animalis LA4 (isolated from the faeces of a healthy adult dog) on composition and metabolism of dog intestinal microflora. When added to dog faecal cultures, LA4 reduced enterococci and increased lactobacilli counts throughout the study, whereas C. perfringens counts were significantly reduced at 24 h. After 8 h of incubation, LA4 reduced ammonia and increased lactic acid concentrations. For the in vivo study, nine adult dogs received the freeze-dried preparation of L. animalis LA4 for 10 days. On day 11, faecal lactobacilli were higher than at trial start (6.99 log CFU/g versus 3.35 log CFU/g of faeces) and faecal enterococci showed a trend towards a numerical reduction (P = 0.08). L. animalis LA4 was recovered in all faecal samples collected on day 11 and in four samples at day 15. The present results show that LA4 was able to survive gastrointestinal passage and transitorily colonize the dog intestine where, based on the in vitro results, it could positively influence composition and metabolism of the intestinal microflora. These results suggest that L. animalis LA4 can be considered as a potential probiotic for dogs.

The effect of journey time and stocking density during transport on carcass and meat quality in rabbits.

Four hundred and fifty hybrid commercial rabbits (half males and half females) at the end of their productive cycle (82 days old) were transported in cages (98×52×24cm, length×width×height) at high or low density (75.5 or 49.0kg/m(2) - 15 or 10 animals per cage) on an uncovered truck for 1, 2 or 4h. Live weight before and after transport as well as slaughter data were recorded for each rabbit. A subset of 180 carcasses were evaluated for meat quality on the basis of meat pH, colour (CIELab system), cooking loss, drip loss and shear force. As a representative of the whole carcass muscle/bone ratio, the left hind leg was separated, dissected and its meat analysed in order to determine its water, protein, ash and lipid content. It was found that a longer journey significantly increases the live weight losses (3.3% vs. 2.0% vs. 1.6% for 4, 2 or 1h, respectively; P<0.001), as a result not only of urine and fecal losses, but also of a decrease in carcass weight (P<0.01) during transport. Ultimate pH (pH(u)) was higher and pH drop lower in rabbits transported for 4h compared to those transported for 2h (P<0.05). Moreover, the meat from animals that had undergone the longest journey was more purple-red (P<0.05), darker (P<0.0001), and firmer when raw and showed less cooking loss than meat from those that underwent shorter journeys. Transport density did not influence any of the considered parameters and there was no interaction between transport time and density.