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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2023; 13(14); doi: 10.3390/ani13142344

The Effect of Dietary Synbiotics in Actively Racing Standardbred Horses Receiving Trimethoprim/Sulfadiazine.

Abstract: Synbiotics are often provided to horses receiving antibiotics to protect against microbiome disturbances, despite a lack of evidence for efficacy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a synbiotic product in horses receiving antibiotics. Sixteen actively racing Standardbred horses were randomly allocated (four-way crossover) to one of four groups: antibiotics (10 days; AB), synbiotics (28 days; PROBIOPlusTM; PBP), PBP + AB, or Control. The fecal microbiome was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing, and fecal dry matter (DM; %), pH, and scores (FS; 0-9) were measured. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA. Results found microbiota differences in community membership between PBP + AB and all other treatments during and after antibiotic treatment. During antibiotic treatment, AB and PBP + AB were significantly different from Control. After antibiotic treatment, PBP + AB was significantly different from all other treatments. The few differences found in relative abundance of phyla or predominant genera were mostly in fiber degrading bacteria. The Fibrobacter population was significantly higher in AB and PBP + AB horses than Control. Unclassified Ruminococcaceae was significantly higher in Control than AB and PBP. After antibiotic treatment, PBP + AB horses were significantly higher than PBP horses. In conclusion, these data provide support for the ability of PROBIOPlus™ to maintain healthy gastrointestinal microbiome during antibiotic treatment.
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Publication Date: 2023-07-18 PubMed ID: 37508120PubMed Central: PMC10376248DOI: 10.3390/ani13142344Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research explores the effect of synbiotics on the microbiome of actively racing Standardbred horses during antibiotic treatment. The researchers found that the presence of dietary synbiotics could help maintain a healthy gastrointestinal microbiome in the horses, particularly when they were on antibiotics.

Method

  • Sixteen actively racing Standardbred horses were chosen as subjects for this study.
  • The horses were randomly allocated to one of four groups: a group receiving only antibiotics (AB) for 10 days, a group receiving only dietary synbiotics PROBIOPlus™(PBP) for 28 days, a group receiving both PBP and AB (PBP + AB), and a Control group without any interventions.
  • The researchers used 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate the fecal microbiome of the horses, and also measured the fecal dry matter (DM), pH, and fecal scores (FS).
  • All the collected data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA.

Results

  • Results showed a difference in microbiota community membership between the PBP + AB group and all the other groups both during and after the antibiotic treatment.
  • During the antibiotic treatment, the microbiota in the Horses from the AB and PBP + AB groups were significantly different from those in the Control group.
  • Once the antibiotic treatment was over, the PBP + AB group still showed a significantly different microbiota from all the other groups.
  • The differences noticed in the relative abundance of phyla or predominant genera were mostly seen in fiber degrading bacteria.
  • The Fibrobacter population was significantly higher in the AB and PBP + AB horses compared to the Control group. Similarly, Unclassified Ruminococcaceae was significantly higher in the Control group than in the AB and PBP groups.
  • Post antibiotic treatment, horses in the PBP + AB group had significantly higher Unclassified Ruminococcaceae than those in the PBP group.

Conclusion

  • In conclusion, this research enables an understanding of how dietary synbiotics can affect the gastrointestinal microbiome in a horse receiving antibiotics.
  • The findings suggest that the use of dietary synbiotics like PROBIOPlus™ can help maintain a healthy microbiome during antibiotic treatment.
  • This could be beneficial for the health and performance of racing horses, as it could reduce the disturbances in their gut microbiota that can result from antibiotic treatment.

Cite This Article

APA
Lagounova M, MacNicol JL, Weese JS, Pearson W. (2023). The Effect of Dietary Synbiotics in Actively Racing Standardbred Horses Receiving Trimethoprim/Sulfadiazine. Animals (Basel), 13(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13142344

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 14

Researcher Affiliations

Lagounova, Maria
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
MacNicol, Jennifer L
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Weese, J Scott
  • Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Pearson, Wendy
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.

Grant Funding

  • 401557 / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
  • 401557 / Selected Bioproducts (Herbs for Horses) Inc.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
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