Researchers identified two probiotic strains that can be used to help obese dogs lose weight. The findings were published this week in Microbiology Spectrum, a magazine of the American Society for Microbiology.
In the latest study, the researchers researched metabolic illnesses in companion animals and sought to uncover probiotics that may be used for long-term, safe treatment. “The initial challenge involved selecting specific metabolic diseases for examination, leading us to focus on the prevalent issue of ‘obesity in pets,'” said study principal investigator Younghoon Kim, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Science (CALS), Seoul National University, Korea.
Notably, the global prevalence of obesity among older pets is higher, accounting for around half of the entire pet population across all age groups. A considerable number of these pets are already undergoing treatment, which includes dietary changes.
“Given this context, our team initiated experiments with the primary goal of identifying probiotics capable of reducing the body fat percentage in pets,” Kim went on to say. One of Kim’s key goals is to raise awareness about the critical need for additional research on probiotics suited for pets, highlighting the diverse range of probiotic strains with potential applications.
The initial challenge involved selecting specific metabolic diseases for examination, leading us to focus on the prevalent issue of ‘obesity in pets. Given this context, our team initiated experiments with the primary goal of identifying probiotics capable of reducing the body fat percentage in pets.
Younghoon Kim
Beyond just acknowledging their role in addressing specific issues, Kim advocates for recognizing the broader therapeutic possibilities that probiotics present, spanning a wide spectrum of diseases affecting companion animals. “By promoting this awareness, my aspiration is to catalyze increased attention, funding and collaborative efforts in the scientific community to explore the expansive landscape of probiotic applications in pet health,” Kim said.
To identify suitable probiotic candidates for companion animals, Kim and colleagues scrutinized the variations in the composition of intestinal microbiota between young and old dogs, revealing a decline in the population of lactic acid bacteria, Bifidobacterium species, and Enterococcus species in older dogs. This insight guided their decision to employ these specific strains.
In the experimental phase, they administered these selected strains, Enterococcus faecium IDCC 2102 and Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301, along with a high-fat diet, to a cohort of beagles. The results were compelling, demonstrating the strains’ effectiveness in reducing body fat and rectifying the imbalances in intestinal microflora induced by obesity.
“The strains we carefully selected demonstrated remarkable success in reducing the body fat percentage in dogs,” said Kim. “What set these strains apart was their ability to not only limit dietary intake or enhance excretion to reduce body weight but, more importantly, activate energy metabolism. Even when exposed to a high-calorie diet, we observed a decrease in body weight, alleviation of subcutaneous fat accumulation, and an increase in energy metabolism. This confirmed a shift in the body’s metabolic orientation toward fat consumption, rather than fat accumulation.”
Kim said that, because fat storage frequently causes systemic inflammation and disturbance of hormone metabolism, the study found significant benefits. The researchers found that the group that swallowed the selected strains had decreased inflammation levels and increased important metabolic processes such as insulin synthesis. Furthermore, the researchers were able to enhance the amount of commensal bacteria that normally reside in the body, acting as a defense against dangerous bacteria and improving immunity.
Kim said that what’s particularly encouraging is that these changes aren’t fleeting. Instead, they persist in the dog’s body, ensuring the positive alterations observed can be sustained over time. This enduring impact underscores the potential long-term benefits of incorporating these probiotic strains into the health regimen for companion animals.
The expanding number of people who own companion animals has raised awareness of health-promoting foods for pets, notably probiotics. Despite this spike in interest, research on personalized probiotics for all companion animals, including the dogs studied in this study, is still significantly lacking when compared to research on humans.
“While types of probiotics suitable for human consumption or commercial livestock have been identified and established, the absence of standardized guidelines for companion animals is a glaring gap,” Kim said. “Our study aimed to address this deficiency by striving to broaden the spectrum of probiotics applicable to pets across various environments.”
