A multi-strain probiotic promoted recovery of puppies from gastroenteritis in a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled study

MOLINA ROSA ALEJANDRA; D'URSO VILLAR, MARCELA A.; MIRANDA, MARÍA HORTENCIA; MALDONADO, NATALIA C.; VIGNOLO, GRACIELA M.; NADER-MACÍAS, MARÍA ELENA FÁTIMA

CANADIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL-REVUE VETERINAIRE CANADIENNE

CANADIAN VET MED ASSOC

Lugar: Ottawa; Año: 2022

0008-5286

Acute diarrhea is among the most common causes of veterinaryconsultations for dogs. A double-blind, placebo-controlled interventiontrial was done with 120 puppies with gastroenteritis. These dogs were 1to 4 mo old, male and female, of various breeds and sizes. They wererandomly allocated into 2 groups: those in the treated group (TG)received a multi-strain probiotic with Lactobacillus johnsonii CRL1693,Ligilactobacillus murinus CRL1695, Limosilactobacillus mucosae CRL1696and Ligilactobacillus salivarius CRL1702 (1x109 CFU/ml), whereas thosein the control group (CG) received a control/placebo, daily for 7 d. At thestart of the trial, the 2 groups were very similar. Probiotic administrationfor 7 d normalized fecal consistency, with 69, 50 and 80% of small,medium and large puppies in the TG group achieving a fecal score of 1(separated hard lumps) at 7 d. In addition, for mean weight and meanweight gain, there were increases for medium size puppies (14.1%) andsmall size (6.35%), but decreases for large puppies (30.6%) after 7 d oftreatment. After 7 d, most puppies receiving probiotics (TG) had anexcellent recovery, whereas puppies from the placebo group (CG) weremostly fair or bad. At the end of the trial, there was a significantincrease of cultivable lactobacilli in feces of TG puppies, but nosignificant differences in the numbers of total mesophylls,enterobacteria, or Gram-positive cocci. In conclusion, in a randomized,double-blind, placebo-controlled study, puppies with gastroenteritissymptoms receiving a multi-strain probiotic had rapid remission,implying beneficial effects on the microbiota and its functionality.