Impact of collagen supplementation on the fecal microbiome of young horses in training.

Overview

• This study investigated how feeding hydrolyzed collagen supplements to young horses undergoing training affects their fecal microbiome composition over a six-month period.

Introduction and Background

• Young athletic horses (foals) undergoing intense training may experience changes in their gut microbiota, which can impact their overall health and performance.
• Maintaining a balanced and healthy gut microbiome is important for nutrient absorption, immune function, and exercise recovery in these animals.
• Hydrolyzed collagen, a nutritional supplement, is hypothesized to influence the microbial community in the gut positively.

Objective

• The main goal was to examine the effect of daily dietary hydrolyzed collagen supplementation on the fecal microbiome diversity and composition of young training horses over 180 days.

Methods

• Subjects: Twenty Mangalarga Marchador foals (~7 months old, average weight 206 ± 18 kg).
• Experimental Design:
• Randomized controlled design with two groups: supplemented (50 g/day hydrolyzed collagen) and control.
• Duration: 180 days of supplementation during which foals underwent consistent training five days per week.
• Sample Collection:
• Fecal samples collected at baseline (Day 0), Day 90, and Day 180.
• Samples weighed 10g and analyzed to study microbial populations.
• Microbiome Analysis:
• Next-generation sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA gene to identify bacterial taxa.
• Alpha diversity (within sample diversity) assessed using Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson indices to measure richness and evenness.
• Beta diversity (between sample diversity) analyzed by Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) to visualize differences in microbial communities between groups and over time.
• Differential abundance analysis conducted at the phylum and genus taxonomic levels using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test to detect significant changes in bacterial populations.
• Statistical differences in beta diversity tested using PERMANOVA, a permutation-based multivariate analysis.

Results

• No statistically significant differences were observed in alpha diversity indices between the supplemented and control groups; microbial richness and evenness remained relatively stable.
• However, beta diversity analysis showed a significant effect of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation in altering the composition of the fecal microbiome over time (P < 0.05).
• Specifically, there was a notable reduction over time in fibrolytic bacteria (those that help break down fibrous plant material) in the supplemented group compared to controls.
• This suggests collagen supplementation modulated the microbial community structure but did not drastically affect overall diversity metrics.

Conclusions

• Hydrolyzed collagen supplementation in young training horses causes measurable shifts in fecal microbiome composition, specifically reducing bacteria involved in fiber degradation.
• These microbial changes could relate to how collagen impacts nutrient processing or gut environment in foals during exercise training.
• The findings highlight the potential for targeted nutritional strategies like collagen supplementation to modulate gut microbiota dynamics in developing athletic horses.
• Further research is needed to understand the functional implications of reduced fibrolytic bacteria and to optimize supplementation practices for equine health and performance.