Probiotics, prebiotics or their combination (symbiotics), and avian immunoglobulins are currently the focus of gastrointestinal research because they can reduce intestinal inflammation and promote recovery of dysbiosis in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE).
Immunoglobulin Y (IgY), the avian homologue of IgG in humans, has been shown to provide benefits in the treatment of gastrointestinal infectious diseases in humans and animals.
Recently, a dietary supplement, now commercially available, containing a combination of symbionts with IgY has been developed to correct gastrointestinal dysbiosis, reduce gastrointestinal signs and target intestinal inflammation. The study U.S. in 2022 hypothesized that administration of the dietary supplement with hydrolyzed protein diet to dogs with EC would improve clinical disease activity, histopathology, endoscopic lesions, mucosal microbiota, and biomarkers of inflammation compared with placebo (hydrolyzed protein-only diet).
The study on dogs
Dogs with CE were enrolled in a prospective randomized study. Twenty-four owned dogs were fed a hydrolyzed diet and received a supplement or placebo (diet) for 6 weeks. Dogs were evaluated at diagnosis and 2 and 6 weeks after treatment. Outcome measures included clinical signs of disease, endoscopic and histological scores, inflammatory markers (fecal calprotectin, C-reactive protein) and mucosal microbiota composition by FISH.
Eleven dogs treated with supplements and nine with placebo completed the study. After 6 weeks of therapy, the clinical course of disease and endoscopic scores decreased in both groups.
Compared with placebo-fed dogs, dogs given the supplement showed decreased levels of the inflammatory markers fecal calprotectin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) two weeks after treatment, decreased levels of hs-CRP two and six weeks after treatment, increased numbers of mucosal Clostridia and Bacteroides, and decreased numbers of Enterobacteriaceae in colon biopsies at the end of the study.
Conclusions
The results suggest a beneficial effect of the supplement on host responses in dogs with EC, as evidenced by decreases in fecal calprotectin, hs-CRP, and favorable changes in the mucosal microbiota.
However, the effect of the supplement on clinical disease course, mucosal healing and histological inflammation was similar to that of placebo.
Reference
Sahoo, D.K.; Allenspach, K.; Mochel, J.P.; Parker, V.; Rudinsky, A.J.; Winston, J.A.; Bourgois-Mochel, A.; Ackermann, M.; Heilmann, R.M.; Köller, G.; et al. Synbiotic-IgY Therapy Modulates the Mucosal Microbiome and Inflammatory Indices in Dogs with Chronic Inflammatory Enteropathy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Vet. Sci. 2023, 10, 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10010025
