Researchers have identified two strains of probiotics that can help reduce weight in obese dogs. The findings were published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
In this study, the research team focused on metabolic diseases in companion animals, aiming to find probiotics suitable for long-term and safe treatment. “The initial challenge was selecting specific metabolic diseases for examination, leading us to focus on the prevalent issue of ‘obesity in pets,’” said the study’s principal investigator, Younghoon Kim, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology at Seoul National University in Korea.
Globally, obesity in pets is more common in older animals, affecting around 50% of the pet population across all age groups. Many of these pets are already undergoing treatments, including dietary interventions.
“Given this context, our team initiated experiments with the primary goal of identifying probiotics capable of reducing the body fat percentage in pets,” Kim said. One of Kim’s main objectives is to raise awareness about the need for further research on probiotics tailored for pets, highlighting the numerous probiotic types with potential applications.
Kim advocates for recognizing the broader therapeutic possibilities of probiotics, which could address various diseases in companion animals. “By promoting this awareness, my aspiration is to catalyze increased attention, funding, and collaborative efforts in the scientific community to explore the expansive landscape of probiotic applications in pet health,” he said.
To find suitable probiotic candidates for companion animals, Kim and his colleagues examined the variations in the intestinal microbiota composition between young and old dogs. They discovered a decline in the population of lactic acid bacteria, Bifidobacterium species, and Enterococcus species in older dogs, which guided their selection of specific strains.
During the experimental phase, they administered these selected strains, Enterococcus faecium IDCC 2102 and Bifidobacterium lactis IDCC 4301, along with a high-fat diet, to a group of beagles. The results were compelling, showing the strains’ effectiveness in reducing body fat and correcting imbalances in intestinal microflora caused by obesity.
“The strains we carefully selected demonstrated remarkable success in reducing the body fat percentage in dogs,” Kim said. “These strains not only limited dietary intake or enhanced excretion to reduce body weight but, more importantly, activated energy metabolism. Even when exposed to a high-calorie diet, we observed a decrease in body weight, a reduction in subcutaneous fat accumulation, and an increase in energy metabolism. This confirmed a shift in the body’s metabolic orientation toward fat consumption rather than fat accumulation.”
Kim added that, crucially, fat accumulation often leads to systemic inflammation and hormone metabolism disruption. The study revealed significant improvements, with lowered inflammation levels and enhanced essential metabolic activities such as insulin production in the group that ingested the selected strains. Additionally, the researchers successfully increased the proportion of commensal bacteria, which typically reside in the body, acting as a defense against harmful bacteria and boosting immunity.
Kim noted that these changes are not fleeting. Instead, they persist in the dog’s body, ensuring the positive alterations observed can be sustained over time. This enduring impact underscores the potential long-term benefits of incorporating these probiotic strains into the health regimen for companion animals.
The growing population of individuals with companion animals has led to increased awareness of health functional foods, particularly probiotics, for pets. Despite this surge in interest, research on tailored probiotics for all companion animals, including the dogs in this study, remains notably inadequate compared to research on humans.
“While probiotics suitable for human consumption or commercial livestock have been identified and established, the absence of standardized guidelines for companion animals is a glaring gap,” Kim said. “Our study aimed to address this deficiency by broadening the spectrum of probiotics applicable to pets across various environments.”
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences, with 36,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM’s mission is to promote and advance microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities, and advocacy efforts. ASM enhances laboratory capacity globally through training and resources, provides a network for scientists in academia, industry, and clinical settings, and promotes a deeper understanding of microbial sciences to diverse audiences.
