Nutriose®FM as a dietary fiber source in dog diets (814.1)

Dietary fermentable fiber is known to benefit intestinal health of companion animals. Nutriose®FM (NU), a soluble corn fiber dextran, was evaluated for in vitro fermentablity, in vivo nutrient digestibility, and fecal fermentation end-products. Nutriose®FM was subjected to in vitro fermentation using dog fecal inoculum, with fermentative outcomes measured at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 h. In the in vivo experiment, ten female dogs (6.36 ± 0.17 yr; 22 ± 2.1 kg) received 5 diets with graded concentrations of NU [0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, or 1.25% (as-is basis)] replacing cellulose in a replicated 5 x 5 Latin square design. Fresh fecal samples were collected to measure pH and fermentation end-products. In the in vitro fermentation experiment, NU elicited increased (P < 0.05) concentrations of short-chain fatty acids through 12 h, with acetate, propionate, and butyrate reaching peak concentrations of 1,803, 926, and 112 µmol/g DM, respectively. In comparison to cellulose and pectin, fermentability of NU was higher (P < 0.05)...