SRA

Pulses are a source of protein of medium biological value and are often used to formulate diets for dogs, but their activity on gut functions is not well documented. In the present study, we wanted to investigate if the inclusion of chickpeas or peas in a balanced diet formulated with raw beef meat can modify gut microbial ecosystem in healthy dogs. Eight healthy adult Border collie dogs were randomly divided in two groups of 4 individuals each. Dogs were initially fed with a commercial extruded diet (RD) and, starting from the beginning of the trial and for 14 days, one group received a mixed diet with chickpeas (CP) and for the other group the pulse was substituted with peas (PE). After the fortnight, the dogs with CP diet shifted to the PE and the PE shifted to the CP diet, for the next 14 days. Feces were collected at the beginning of the study (T0), after 14 days (T14) and at the end of experimental period (T28). Faeces were analysed for 16S rRNA V3 and V4 regions, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), lactate, pH and score. The SCFA and lactate in the feces were not affected by the dietary regime, with the only exception of isovalerate, which was higher in CP diet in comparison to RD diet. In comparison to RD, significant variations of Prevotella, Alloprevotella, Sutterella for CP and of Lactobacillus, Megamonas and Eubacterium for PE abundances were found. The abundances of Erysipelotrichaceae incertae sedis, Eubacterium, Anaerobacter and Sarcina were significantly affected by the source of pulse. Correlations between Fusicatenibacter, Lachnospiracea incertae sedis, Blautia, Collinsella, Clostridium XI, Sporacetigenium, Clostridium XlVa with lactate and isobutyrate were observed. Lactate was negatively correlated with Alloprevotella, Bacteroides, Phascolarctobacterium and Peptococcus. The results gathered from the study suggest that the substitution of chickpeas with peas in balanced diet fed to healthy dogs had minor effect on fecal microbiome. Accordingly, legumes were well tolerated at a gut level in healthy dogs.