Evaluation of Probiotic effect of Typified Lactic Yeast Kluyveromyces fragilis B0399 in Adult Horses. Variation of large colon pH.

Susmel P., Stefanon B., Del Savio R. and Boccalon S.3
Department of Animal Science - Via delle Scienze 208. 33100 Udine (Italy)

INTRODUCTION

The use of probiotic in horse gained popularity in the past few years as a feed ingredient to control nutritional disorders or intestinal pathogens (Boldt et al. 1997; Parraga et al. 1997; Steffans 1997). Other researches have indicated a positive effect of probiotic administration in growth and blood metabolic parameters in foals (Abd et al. 1998; Stefanon et al. 1999) or in exercising horses (Art et al. 1994).

In particular, the positive action of lactic probiotic should be due to the modulation of the large intestinal activity of microflora, which would be reflected in higher efficiency of fibre degradation and mineral absorption (Glade 1993; Pagan 1993) The increase fibre fermentation would determine higher volatile fatty acids concentrations in the intestine and, in the case of probiotics containing lactic producing micro-organisms (Kluiveromyces f. B0399), higher lactic acid. The overall effect would be a control of pathogen bacteria strains, through a decrease of large intestinal pH and a substrate competition.

In various field trials there was a beneficial effect on severe cases of colics and aerophagies (Delogu-Cherchi 1996; Huff 1997; Ferrari 1996). If the positive effect on general health status and nutritional efficiency has been demonstrated, no convincing indications on the modifications of intestinal pH are at the moment yet available.

The effect of lactic probiotic TURVAL on the pH value at the large colon level was reported by Smally (1997) in 3 mares by colon laparatomy (Smally 1997). The aim of this paper is to identify a non invasive method to assess variation of intestinal pH and to verify if the administration of TURVAL6 could interfere on this value.