The potential for abomasally infused S. Boulardii to alleviate large intestinal acidosis

Tanya GressleyLarge intestinal acidosis occurs when excessive amounts of carbohydrates are fermented in the large intestine, an event which may contribute to laminitis and gastrointestinal damage. The objectives of this study were to: a) develop a less severe model of oligofructose-induced large intestinal acidosis than the models previously utilized and b) evaluate the ability of Saccharomyces boulardii (SB) ability to alleviate this oligofructose-induced large intestinal acidosis. Six ruminally cannulated steers were used in a replicated 2x2 Latin square experiment with two-18 day (d) periods. Steers were randomly assigned to one of 2 treatments: (1) Control (0 g/d SB) and (2) and SB (10 g/d SB). Control and SB treatments administered via abomasal infusion with equal amounts provided at 10 AM and 4 PM daily. On d 16 of each period, steers were abomasally infused every 6 h for 24 h with 1 L of water containing 0.25 g/kg oligofructose. Fecal samples were periodically collected for 24 h prior to and for 48 hours following the first abomasal oligofructose infusion. The oligofructose infusions resulted in large intestinal acidosis as indicated by a decrease in fecal pH and fecal score and an increase in fecal volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations. This large intestinal acidosis model did not change fecal dry matter content and induced a fecal pH and fecal score decline which was less severe than those seen in previous models We found that SB treatment had no effect on pre-oligofructose challenge measurements. During the oligofructose challenge however, SB tended to increase fecal pH (trend at P=0.09) and decrease total fecal VFA concentrations (P=0.05). SB treatment had no affect on fecal score or dry matter content. We conclude that our large intestinal acidosis model was less severe than those used in previous studies as indicated by a less severe decrease in fecal score and that the oligofructose infusion had no effect on fecal DM content. Additionally we propose that SB has the potential to alleviate the severity of this large intestinal model by fasciliating higher fecal pH and lower total VFA concentrations. Higher fecal pH and lower fecal VFA concentrations suggest that SB has the potential to alleviate the severity of large intestinal acidosis.Biological Science