In vitro adhesion of lactic acid bacteria to canine small intestinal mucus

Selected probiotic lactic acid bacteria have several documented health effe cts. For many of these health effects, adhesion to the intestinal mucosa is of primary importance. In the current study, the adhesive ability to canin e small intestinal mucus of four lactic acid bacteria intended for human us e, two for animal use and two strains isolated from dogs was assessed. The strains for human use were specifically chosen because they have documented health effects and have been proven to be safe. One strain for human use, Lactobacillus rhamnosus (ATCC 53103), was found to adhere significantly bet ter than all other strains. Pretreatment of the strains with canine jejunal chyme, to simulate digestion, dramatically reduced the adhesion of all str ains tested. However, three of the strains intended for human use were stil l adhering better than the strains from animal origin. The results show tha t probiotic strains from human origin and intended for human use also adher e to canine intestinal mucus. This warrants further investigation of these strains for use in dogs.