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Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)2021; 10(9); doi: 10.3390/pathogens10091137

Gut Microbiota Manipulation in Foals-Naturopathic Diarrhea Management, or Unsubstantiated Folly?

Abstract: Diarrhea in foals is a problem of significant clinical and economic consequence, and there are good reasons to believe microbiota manipulation can play an important role in its management. However, given the dynamic development of the foal microbiota and its importance in health and disease, any prophylactic or therapeutic efforts to alter its composition should be evidence based. The few clinical trials of probiotic preparations conducted in foals to date show underwhelming evidence of efficacy and a demonstrated potential to aggravate rather than mitigate diarrhea. Furthermore, recent studies have affirmed that variable but universally inadequate quality control of probiotics enables inadvertent administration of toxin-producing or otherwise pathogenic bacterial strains, as well as strains bearing transferrable antimicrobial resistance genes. Consequently, it seems advisable to approach probiotic therapy in particular with caution for the time being. While prebiotics show initial promise, an even greater scarcity of clinical trials makes it impossible to weigh the pros and cons of their use. Advancing technology will surely continue to enable more detailed and accurate mapping of the equine adult and juvenile microbiota and potentially elucidate the complexities of causation in dysbiosis and disease. In the meantime, fecal microbiota transplantation may be an attractive therapeutic shortcut, allowing practitioners to reconstruct a healthy microbiota even without fully understanding its constitution.
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Publication Date: 2021-09-04 PubMed ID: 34578169PubMed Central: PMC8467620DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10091137Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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The research article discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of manipulating the gut microbiota in foals as a means to manage diarrhea, a significant health and economic issue. It emphasizes the need for evidence-based approaches and highlights that while interventions such as probiotics and prebiotics have shown some promise, they may also have unintended negative impacts such as worsening the diarrheal conditions or introducing harmful bacteria or antibiotic resistant genes.

Microbiota Manipulation for Diarrhea Management in Foals

  • Diarrhea in foals, young horses, has significant health and financial implications, leading to interest in microbiota manipulation as a possible solution. This involves changing the composition of the microbial communities living in the foal’s gut.
  • The foal’s microbiota is crucial for health and wellness, and any attempts to modify it, whether for preventive or therapeutic purposes, should be guided by solid scientific evidence.
  • Microbiota manipulation in foals could include use of probiotics, prebiotics, or fecal microbiota transplantation.

Probiotics and Their Limitations

  • Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are beneficial for gut health. Clinical trials of probiotic treatments in foals have been performed, but results are inconsistent and often underwhelming in terms of reducing diarrhea.
  • Probiotic treatments can sometimes worsen diarrheal conditions rather than improving them. In addition, quality control for probiotics is often inadequate, leading to risks such as the unintended administration of harmful bacteria strains or strains carrying antibiotic resistance genes.
  • These issues lead the authors to advise caution when considering probiotic therapy for foals.

Prebiotics and the Need for More Research

  • Prebiotics, which are substances that feed beneficial gut bacteria, have shown initial promise for managing diarrhea in foals. However, there is currently a severe lack of clinical trials in this area, making it hard to accurately assess the benefits and risks of prebiotic use.

Future Directions and Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

  • As technology advances, it is expected that scientists will be able to generate more detailed and accurate maps of the microbiota in adult and young horses. This could shed light on how changes in the composition of the microbiota might cause diseases or disorders, including diarrhea.
  • In the interim, fecal microbiota transplantation, which involves transferring fecal matter from a healthy donor into a recipient, might present a useful therapy for restoring a healthy microbiota in foals. This technique allows practitioners to rebuild a healthy microbiota without fully understanding its composition.

Cite This Article

APA
Goodman-Davis R, Figurska M, Cywinska A. (2021). Gut Microbiota Manipulation in Foals-Naturopathic Diarrhea Management, or Unsubstantiated Folly? Pathogens, 10(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10091137

Publication

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
ISSN: 2076-0817
NlmUniqueID: 101596317
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 9

Researcher Affiliations

Goodman-Davis, Rachel
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
  • The Scientific Society of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
Figurska, Marianna
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.
Cywinska, Anna
  • Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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