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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1530260
This article is part of the Research Topic Pet Obesity: Health Impacts and Innovations in Weight Management View all articles

Evaluation of enzymatically hydrolyzed poultry byproduct meal effects on fecal microbiota and pressure variables and in elderly obese cats

Provisionally accepted
Leonardo de Andrade Príncipe Leonardo de Andrade Príncipe 1Pedro Henrique Marchi Pedro Henrique Marchi 1Cinthia Gonçalves Lenz Cesar Cinthia Gonçalves Lenz Cesar 1Andressa Rodrigues Amaral Andressa Rodrigues Amaral 2Kelly Keffny Souza Duarte Kelly Keffny Souza Duarte 1Gabriela Luiza Fagundes Finardi Gabriela Luiza Fagundes Finardi 1Jennifer Machado de Souza Jennifer Machado de Souza 1Júlio Cesar de Carvalho Balieiro Júlio Cesar de Carvalho Balieiro 1Thiago Henrique Annibale Vendramini Thiago Henrique Annibale Vendramini 1*
  • 1 Pet Nutrology Research Center, Department of Animal Nutrition and Production of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Brazil
  • 2 Veterinary Nutrology Service, Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Sao Paulo, SAO PAULO, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Arterial hypertension is influenced by the intestinal microbiota and its metabolites, which play a crucial role in host health. Dietary peptides are multifunctional molecules with therapeutic potential for managing hypertension. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of incorporating enzymatically hydrolyzed poultry byproduct meal (EHPM-c) into extruded dry diets on the fecal microbiota and blood pressure parameters of elderly obese cats. Eighteen owners neutered, clinically healthy male and female cats of various breeds were randomly assigned to two groups: Control (30.8% conventional poultry byproduct meal -CPM-c) and Test (17.07% CPM-c + 12.0% EHPM-c). Clinical values of systolic blood pressure values, serum aldosterone concentrations, angiotensin converting enzyme I activity and fecal microbiota using 16S rRNA were measured. Data were processed using SAS software (PROC MIXED, PROC GLIMMIX, and PROC CORR; p<0.05). Both groups exhibited high microbial alpha diversity, with no significant differences in beta diversity. While the inclusion of 12.0% EHPM-c had no measurable effect on blood pressure, both diets promoted beneficial modulation of the fecal microbiota, improving intestinal health. These findings underscore the importance of diet in maintaining gut homeostasis in obese senior cats, contributing to better health management during aging and offering insights for future nutritional interventions.

    Keywords: Aldosterone, angiotensin converting enzyme, Blood Pressure, gut health, microbiome

    Received: 18 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Príncipe, Marchi, Cesar, Amaral, Duarte, Finardi, Souza, Balieiro and Vendramini. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Thiago Henrique Annibale Vendramini, Pet Nutrology Research Center, Department of Animal Nutrition and Production of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Brazil

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.