When owners decide to change their pet's food, a rapid transition may cause gastrointestinal distress. Yeast products may help with digestive upset during diet transition due to the bioactive compounds they possess, which may lead to improved intestinal morphology and integrity, modified gut microbiota, and modulated immune responses. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a yeast cell wall fraction supplement on measures of gut integrity and fecal characteristics of adult dogs undergoing an abrupt diet transition. Twelve adult female beagles (mean age: 5.16 ± 0.87 years; mean body weight: 13.37 ± 0.68 kg) were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with four 28-day experimental periods. During days 1–14, dogs were fed a dry kibble diet and supplemented with a placebo (cellulose; 125 mg/d) or yeast product (365 mg/d; equivalent to 0.2% of diet). During days 15–28, dogs remained on their placebo or yeast treatments but were rapidly transitioned to a canned diet or high-fiber diet. Fresh fecal samples were collected on days 13, 16, 20, 24, and 27 for measurement of pH, dry matter, calprotectin, immunoglobulin A (IgA), Escherichia coli, and Clostridium perfringens. Blood samples were collected on days 14, 17, and 28 to measure serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein concentrations. All data were analyzed using the Mixed Models procedure of SAS 9.4. Fecal pH, dry matter, calprotectin, IgA, and E. coli were not affected (P > 0.05) by treatment before diet transition. Dogs supplemented with yeast cell wall fraction tended to have higher (P = 0.06) fecal C. perfringens counts than the controls. After diet transition, most parameters were not altered (P > 0.05) by treatment except that yeast-supplemented dogs tended to have higher (P = 0.06) fecal IgA than controls. Our results suggest that the yeast product may modestly improve intestinal health after an abrupt diet transition in adult dogs by enhancing intestinal immunity.

当主人决定改变宠物食品时，快速过渡可能会引起胃肠道不适。酵母产品由于具有生物活性化合物，因此在饮食转换过程中可能有助于消化系统不适，这可能会导致肠道形态和完整性改善，肠道菌群改变和免疫反应调节。这项研究的目的是确定酵母细胞壁级分补充剂对经历突然饮食过渡的成年犬肠道完整性和粪便特性的影响。将十二只成年雌性小猎犬（平均年龄：5.16±0.87岁；平均体重：13.37±0.68 kg）用于具有四个28天实验期的重复4×4拉丁方形设计。在第1-14天，给狗喂干粗磨食物，并补充安慰剂（纤维素；125毫克/天）或酵母产品（365毫克/天；相当于饮食的0.2％）。在第15至28天期间，狗继续接受安慰剂或酵母菌治疗，但很快过渡到罐头饮食或高纤维饮食。在第13、16、20、24和27天收集新鲜的粪便样品，以测量pH，干物质，钙卫蛋白，免疫球蛋白A（IgA），大肠杆菌和 产气荚膜梭菌。在第14、17和28天收集血样以测量血清脂多糖结合蛋白浓度。使用SAS 9.4的“混合模型”过程分析了所有数据。粪便pH，干物质，钙卫蛋白，IgA和大肠杆菌 没有受到影响（P> 0.05）在饮食过渡之前进行治疗。补充酵母细胞壁部分的狗往往具有更高的（P = 0.06）粪便 产气荚膜梭菌比控件更重要。饮食过渡后，大多数参数没有改变（P > 0.05），但补充酵母的狗往往有更高的（P= 0.06）比对照组的粪便IgA。我们的研究结果表明，在成年犬突然饮食过渡后，酵母产品可通过增强肠道免疫力来适度改善肠道健康。