“Premium” pet foods are often formulated with meat slurries. Meat slurries are believed to be of higher quality than rendered meals, but inadequate research has been performed to test how their inclusion affects palatability, digestibility, or indicators of gastrointestinal health. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine how chicken slurry inclusion affected the palatability and apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility (ATTD) of dog foods and to assess their effects on the fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota of dogs. A replicated 3x3 Latin square design digestibility study was conducted using 9 healthy adult dogs (age = 5.44 ± 0.53 yr) to test diets containing 0% (control; CON), 8% (low inclusion; LOW), and 16% (high inclusion; HIGH) chicken slurry. The experiment comprised three 21-day experimental periods (14 days of adaptation, 5 days of total fecal collection (used for ATTD calculations), and 2 days of blood collection). On the first day of fecal collections, one fresh sample was collected for measurement of pH, dry matter (DM) content, fermentative metabolite concentrations, and microbiota populations. A 2-day palatability study (n=20 dogs) was also conducted to compare CON vs. HIGH. Data were analyzed statistically by Mixed Models using SAS 9.4, with P<0.05 being significant. In the palatability study, dogs were shown to prefer (P<0.05) the HIGH diet by a ratio of 2:1. In the digestibility study, fecal output, scores, pH, and DM percentage were not different among diets. The ATTD of protein was higher (P<0.05) for the HIGH diet (84.6%) than for the LOW (82.7%) or CON (82.6%) diets. The ATTD of other nutrients and energy were not different among diets (all over 80%). Fecal propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acid concentrations were higher (P<0.05) in dogs fed the LOW diet (122.0, 67.4, and 408.2 βmol/g, respectively) than those fed the HIGH diet (89.0, 46.9, and 338.2 βmol/g, respectively). The other fecal metabolites (acetate, branched-chain fatty acids, ammonia, phenol, and indole) were not different among treatments. Few changes to the fecal microbiota were noted. However, the relative abundance of fecal Fusobacterium was higher (P<0.05) in dogs fed the CON diet than those fed the HIGH diet (25.% vs. 20.0% relative abundance). In summary, chicken slurry inclusion improved palatability but had minimal effects on nutrient digestibility and fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota.

中文翻译：

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鸡粪掺入对健康成年犬表观总道常量营养素消化率、适口性和粪便特性、微生物群和代谢物的影响


“优质”宠物食品通常由肉浆配制而成。肉浆被认为比精炼的餐食质量更高，但尚未进行足够的研究来测试它们的加入如何影响适口性、消化率或胃肠道健康的指标。因此，本研究的目的是确定鸡浆掺杂物如何影响狗粮的适口性和表观总道宏量营养素消化率 （ATTD），并评估它们对狗粪特性、代谢物和微生物群的影响。使用 9 只健康的成年狗 （年龄 = 5.44 ± 0.53 岁） 进行了一项重复的 3x3 拉丁方设计消化率研究，以测试含有 0% （对照;CON）、8%（低内含物;低）和 16%（高内含;HIGH） 鸡浆。该实验包括三个 21 天的实验期 （14 天的适应、5 天的总粪便收集 （用于 ATTD 计算） 和 2 天的血液收集）。在粪便采集的第一天，收集了一份新鲜样品用于测量 pH 值、干物质 （DM） 含量、发酵代谢物浓度和微生物群。还进行了一项为期 2 天的适口性研究 （n=20 只狗） 以比较 CON 与 HIGH。使用 SAS 9.4 通过混合模型对数据进行统计分析，P<0.05 显著。在适口性研究中，狗以 2：1 的比例显示更喜欢 （P<0.05） HIGH 饮食。在消化率研究中，粪便排出量、评分、pH 值和 DM 百分比在饮食之间没有差异。HIGH 饮食 （84.6%） 的蛋白质 ATTD （P<0.05） 高于 LOW （82.7%） 或 CON （82.6%） 饮食。其他营养素和能量的 ATTD 在不同饮食中没有差异 （均超过 80%）。 饲喂 LOW 饮食的狗粪丙酸盐、丁酸盐和总短链脂肪酸浓度 （分别为 122.0、67.4 和 408.2 βmol/g） 高于饲喂 HIGH 饮食的狗 （分别为 89.0、46.9 和 338.2 βmol/g） （P<0.05）。其他粪便代谢物 （乙酸盐、支链脂肪酸、氨、苯酚和吲哚） 在处理之间没有差异。粪便微生物群几乎没有变化。然而，喂食 CON 饮食的狗粪便梭杆菌的相对丰度 （P<0.05） 高于喂食 HIGH 饮食的狗 （25.% vs. 20.0% 相对丰度）。总之，鸡粪的添加提高了适口性，但对营养物质消化率和粪便特性、代谢物和微生物群的影响很小。