Tarmmikrobiotans inverkan på hundens hälsa, samt hur råutfodring påverkar tarmmikrobiotan hos hund

Sammanfattning: The interest in raw feeding of dogs has increased significantly in recent years, and the interest to ease or prevent common health problems in dogs with diet has become a trend. The gut microbiota has a role in common diseases such as allergy and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and it also has a role in the immune system. The aim of this study was to investigate how the gut microbiota affects the health of the dog, and how raw feeding affects the gut microbiota in dogs. Studies have shown that dogs who were fed raw feed with a large proportion of meat, and little- or no carbohydrates, showed increased microbial diversity and had an increased number of microbial groups that are negatively correlated with IBD and allergy. An increase of microbial groups that stimulate Immunoglobulin A (IgA) were also observed. There was also an increase of microbial groups that are negatively correlated with short chain fatty acids (SCFA), which may adversely affect the immune system. The conclusion is that raw feeding affects the microbiota as mentioned above and that the gut microbiota affects the health of the dog when it comes to the immune system, allergy, IBD and in some cases obesity and cancer. Raw feeding could potentially help to ease or prevent diseases such as allergy, IBD and possibly even cancer and obesity. Some microbial groups, that are linked to diet, have been observed to affect these diseases, but more studies need to be conducted to examine how raw feeding affects dogs with these diseases. Studies also need to investigate whether the effects on the microbiota depends on if the feed is raw or the nutritional composition (especially the carbohydrates).