Effects Of Bacillus Combination On Coat Quality,Immune Function,and Gut Health In Pit Bulls.

The purpose of this experiment was to explore the effects of Bacillus and its combination with formic acid or fructooligosaccharide on coat quality,immune performance and intestinal health of pit bulls,so as to provide some theoretical basis for the application of intestinal microecological regulators in dogs.Experiment 1: Effects of Bacillus natto and its combination with formic acid or Fructooligosaccharide on pit bullsThe single factor experiment design was adopted in the experiment.32 female pit bulls with similar physical conditions were randomly and equally divided into 4 groups(n = 8),with 8 repetitions in each group and 1 in each repetition.The experimental groups were:(1)control group(Group C): basic dog food;(2)Bacillus natto group(BN group): basic dog food + 0.01 kg/t Bacillus natto;(3)Bacillus natto + acidifier group(BNA group): basic dog food + 0.01 kg/t Bacillus natto + 2 kg/t acidifier;(4)Bacillus natto fructooligosaccharide complex group(BNF group): basic dog food + 1 kg/t Bacillus natto fructooligosaccharide complex.The results showed that:(1)The experimental treatment had no significant effects on the body weight,feed intake,apparent nutrient digestibility,fur score and fecal characteristics of dogs;Compared with the control group,the total weight gain of test dogs in BN group,BNA group and BNF group increased(P < 0.05).(2)Compared with the control group,the contents of TP and GLO in BNF group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P < 0.05),and the level of ALB in BNA group was significantly lower;The content of Ig G in BN,BNF and BNA groups was significantly higher than that in the control group(P < 0.05),and the content of Ig M in BNA group was significantly higher than that in other groups(P < 0.05).Compared with the control group,the content of serum SOD in BNF group increased significantly(P < 0.05),the level of serum GSH-Px in BNA group increased(P = 0.098),and uric acid(UA)content significantly decreased in pit bulls(P < 0.05).(3)Test treatments on pit bulls serum IL-1,IL-6,TNF-α And ET levels were not significantly affected(P > 0.05);The treatment of Bacillus natto did not affect the growth of fecal microorganisms in pit bulls α-diversity and β-diversity(P > 0.05),but it can reduce the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and increase the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in fecal microorganisms(P < 0.05);At the species level,the relative abundance of Clostridium＿hiranonis was significantly increased(P < 0.05),[Eubacterium]＿biforme was significantly decreased(P < 0.05),and Collinsella＿aerofaciens was not detected in the Bacillus natto treated group.Experiment 2: Effect of Bacillus coagulans and its combination with formic acid on pit bulls24 female pit bulls with similar physical condition were randomly divided into 3 groups(n=8),with 8 repetitions in each group and 1 in each repetition.The groups were:(1)control group(Group C): basic dog food;(2)Bacillus coagulans group(BC group): basic dog food + 0.2 kg/t Bacillus coagulans;(3)Bacillus coagulans and acidifier(BCA group): basic dog food + 0.2 kg/t Bacillus coagulans and 2 kg/t acidifier.Experiment 2 and experiment 1 shared a control group.The results showed that:(1)compared with the control group,the growth performance apparent digestibility of fecal nutrients in BC group and BCA group had no significant change(P > 0.05),the fur score of BCA group increased significantly(P < 0.05);and the concentration of ammonium nitrogen(NH4+-N)in feces of BC group decreased significantly(P < 0.05).(2)Compared with the control group,there were no significant changes in the contents of serum immune indexes in BC group and BCA group;The contents of serum T-AOC and SOD in BC group and BCA group increased(P = 0.087 and P = 0.089);The level of serum uric acid in BC group and BCA group decreased significantly(P < 0.05),and the level of LDL-c in BC group decreased significantly(P < 0.05).(3)Compared with the control group,the serum levels of IL-1,IL-6,TNF-α and ET was not significantly affected in BC or BCA groups;Effects of 0.2 kg/t Bacillus coagulans on microbial composition of pit bull feces α-diversity and β-diversity had no significant effect,but it could significantly reduce the relative abundance of Firmicutes in fecal microflora at the taxonomic level,increase the relative abundance of Fusobacteria and Bacteroidetes(P < 0.05),and at the species level,the treatment of Bacillus coagulans could significantly increased Clostridium＿hiranonis and Blautia＿producta,decreased the relative abundances of Collinsella＿aerofaciens and Lactobacillus＿vaginalis(P < 0.05).In summary: the addition of different kinds of Bacillus can affect the total weight gain and fur state of adult pit bulls to a certain extent,but the effect of probiotics combined with fructooligosaccharides or acidifiers is more obvious;The use of different kinds of Bacillus alone or in combination with fructooligos accharides and acidifiers had no significant effect on the apparent digestibility of nutrients in pit bulls,but the addition of Bacillus coagulans to the diet could reduce the concentration of ammonium nitrogen in feces;The use of Bacillus can improve the levels of serum TP,GLO,Ig G and SOD,and reduce the contents of serum biochemical indexes such as UA and LDL-c,so as to improve the immune and antioxidant capacity of dogs.The combination of Bacillus with fructooligosaccharide oracidifier has better effect;Bacillus can affect the intestinal microbial composition of female pit bulls,regulate the relative abundance of some flora at phylum level and species level,and improve the intestinal health of dogs.