Dietary therapy with dietary fiber is useful for human obesity and diabetic patients, since it induces delaying glucose absorption and preventing postprandial hyperglycemia. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether two types of dietary fibers（beet pulp; soluble fiber＋insoluble fiber; cellulose; insoluble fiber）affect postprandial blood glucose metabolism parameter in healthy dogs. We used a commercial food as control diet（control diet; low fiber: 0.9g/100kcal）. Furthermore, 10％and 20％of beet pulp and cellulose were added to the control diet, respectively, as supplemented dietary fiber. The total additive dietary fiber amount was 10％（fiber: 3.5g/100kcal）and 20％（fiber: 6.1g/100kcal）respectively. When comparing amount of dietary fiber, 20％supplemented diet induced decreased postprandial blood insulin concentrations,non-esterified free fatty acid（NEFA）concentration and GIP concentration as compared to control diet. Furthermore, 20％supplemented diet induced increased postprandial blood GLP-1 concentration as compared to control diet. Therefore, 20％supplemented diet might help delaying digestion and absorption,thereby preventing obesity and suppressing appetite. However, no significant difference was observed in postprandial blood parameter when the two fiber sources（beet pulp and cellulose）were taken into account. Since beet pulp was mainly composed of insoluble fiber（about 80％）, the characteristics of the soluble fiber might be lacked.

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In humans, the rate of acetaminophen（APAP）absorption reflects the rate of gastric emptying. However, few studies have reported the use of the APAP method for evaluating gastric emptying in dogs. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether a commercial APAP detection kit can measure serum APAP in healthy dogs. First, we evaluated the validity of this kit, measuring canine serum levels after the administration of APAP. Analytical evaluation of serum APAP concentrations indicated acceptable precision,with intra-assay coefficients of variation（CV）not exceeding the commonly accepted 10％limit. However,the inter-assay CV for serum APAP concentrations was 19.4％. A linear relationship was demonstrated with all dilutions tested, up to a 16-fold dilution. Next, to determine the detectable APAP dose using this kit, six healthy dogs were administered the experimental diet alone（0 mg（APAP）/kg（body weight））and the experimental diet with APAP added, at doses of 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg. A significant increase was observed in serum APAP concentrations at a dose at 20 mg/kg, compared with doses of 0 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg. In conclusion, an APAP detection kit is able to measure serum APAP concentrations in dogs and may be applicable to determine gastric emptying. Furthermore, the minimum detectable APAP dose in dogs is approximately 20 mg/kg.

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Recently, several reports revealed that some gastrointestinal disease is associated with the alteration of gastrointestinal microbiota. Additionally, some bacterial species modulate the induction and proliferation of regulatory T-cell (T-reg) by producing the short chain fatty acid. The aim of this study is to evaluate the changes in the microbiota composition and the number of T-reg in the intestinal mucous membrane. In this study, probiotics containing Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, and phsyrium as a prebiotics, were administered to 6 healthy beagle dogs. Fecal samples and intestinal biopsy samples were obtained on day 0 and day 14, respectively. Fecal samples were analyzed by using a next generation sequencer amplifying V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. To evaluate the number of T-reg at intestinal mucosa, immunohistochemistry by using Foxp3 antibody was performed. On analysis of microbiom, although the difference was not significant,phylum Firmicutes was decreased while phylum Fusobacterium, and Bacteroidetes were increased on day 14 compared to day 0. Principal coordinates analysis revealed not significant but relatively similar pattern was observed in 5 out of 6 dogs on day 14. T-reg count in the intestinal mucous membrane showed no difference between day 0 and day 14. This study revealed that administration of probiotics and prebiotics can change the microbiome in healthy dogs to certain proportion. Although clinical significance of these results is unclear,potential of probiotics and prebiotics for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases is suggested. Further evaluation focused on short chain fatty acid and similar study in dogs with gastrointestinal diseases is needed.

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We compared the lipid metabolism in cats by feeding medium-chain triglycerides（MCT）using coconuts oil and long-chain triglycerides（LCT）（using lard and soybean oil）to investigate the effects of dietary MCT on glucose and lipid metabolism. We fed the control diet（low fat diet: 2.8 g of fat content/100 kcal）and control diet with 3 different sources of fat（coconuts oil, lard, and soybean oil）using 6 healthy cats. Each diet was fed for 14 days, and body weight, body fat and physical signs and blood examinations were evaluated. All diet can be fed during study period with no effect on dietary preference detected without any side effects. No significant differences were observed in body weight, body fat and physical signs during the study period. Furthermore, for blood examinations, serum glucose, insulin, triglyceride and non-esterified fatty acid（NEFA）concentrations and plasma glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide（GIP）and glucagon-like peptide 1（GLP-1）concentrations were measured. However, all serum and plasma blood test did not show any significant difference. There is a positive effect of MCT on lipid metabolism in human as an efficient energy source, however, further study with different amount of MCT and log-term study should reveal more information about the kinetics, body fat accumulation, and nutrient metabolism in cats.

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Salmonella are important pathogenic bacteria as cause of disease both for human and animal. If dogs fed Salmonella-contaminated food, dogs can shed Salmonella with feces. In 2012, there was an outbreak of human Salmonella enterica serotype Infantis infections related to exposure to dry dog foods in US and Canada. In other countries, surveillance of Salmonella-contaminated dry dog foods were carried out. However there are little reports on surveillance of Salmonella-contaminated dry dog foods in Japan. Therefore, we carried out investigation of Salmonella-contaminated dry dog foods in Japan. We carried out this surveillance following the procedure of procedure of FAMIC in accordance with Pet Food Safety Law. Sixty-three domestic samples and forty-seven imported samples were examined. The countries of origins of imported foods and samples were including the United States of America（n＝14）, the Netherlands（n＝7）, Thailand（n＝6）, Canada （n＝6）, France（n＝6）, Australia（n＝5）, Sweden（n＝2）and Czech（n＝1）. We did not detect Salmonella from any samples. In 2014, Nemser et al. reported one sample was positive for Salmonella in 480 dry and semimoist dog and cat foods in US. Although the risk of salmonellosis is low, adhering to safety recommendations will help to minimize the risk of infections with Salmonella. Therefore, a more in-depth investigation will be needed in Japan. And producers of dry dog foods should reduce the potential for contamination with Salmonella.

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ProMortion^Ⓡ (PM) was developed as an animal supplement, containing glucosamine HCL, collagen peptides, N-acetylcysteine, bioflavanol, and vitamin C as main components, for the treatment of degenerative joint disease (DJD) in dogs mainly through an anti-inflammatory mechanism. This study assessed the inflammatory status in adjuvant arthritis model rats given PM. Adjuvant arthritis was induced in Lewis rats by a single intradermal injection of adjuvant containing 0.5 mg of heat-inactivated Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the right footpad. Five arthritis model rats were allocated to the following groups: no PM treatment (N-PM group), treatment with the usual dose of PM (PM group), treatment with triple the usual dose of PM (3PM group), or treatment with L-methionine (LM group) as an active control. Paw inflammation scores, the rate of paw volume increase obtained using X-ray computerized tomography images, and serum nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂（PGE₂）levels as determined using assay kits were obtained and compared among the groups to assess arthritis. Inflammation scores and the paw volume increase rate were lower in the PM, 3PM, and LM groups than in the N-PM group. The measured values of NO and PGE₂ were significantly lower in the PM, 3PM, and LM groups than in the N-PM group. There were no significant differences in these parameters among the PM, 3PM, and LM groups. Our results thus indicate that PM has anti-inflammatory actions comparable to those of LM, and that PM may serve as a treatment option for DJD in dogs.

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