Prospecção de linhagens bacterianas com potencial probiótico para uso em formulações para gatos domésticos

Abstract

Dogs and cats have become integral to human life, driving increased attention to their health and well-being. Among emerging strategies to support pet health, probiotics represent a promising alternative for maintaining intestinal microbiota balance and managing dysbiosis. Research on probiotic use in cats remains limited, need to isolate and characterize bacterial strains with potential benefits for feline health. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the feces and saliva of three kittens and evaluated for their probiotic potential. 26 isolates were identified, comprising Limosilactobacillus reuteri (70.59%), Limosilactobacillus mucosae (2.94%), and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (2.94%), in addition to eight isolates of Enterococcus spp. (11.76%) and Staphylococcus spp. (11.76%). The isolates were tested for functional (resistance to artificial gastric juice and bile salts), beneficial (cell surface hydrophobicity, exopolysaccharide production, auto-aggregation, co-aggregation, and pathogen antagonism), and safety (gelatinase and hemolysis production, antimicrobial susceptibility) characteristics. Twenty-nine isolates demonstrated resistance to gastric juice and 23 were tolerance or sensitivity to bile salts. Low cell surface hydrophobicity was noted in 32 isolates, and none produced exopolysaccharides. Moderate auto-aggregation (33%–66%) was observed in nine isolates, and two demonstrated high co-aggregation (>66%) with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, 22 isolates showed antagonistic activity against Salmonella Typhimurium. Ten isolates were selected for safety characterization, all don't have gelatinase and hemolytic activity, and were sensitive to at least six of ten antibiotics tested. From these, three strains were chosen for in vivo evaluation in a murine model of S. Typhimurium infection. Two strains obtained protective effects, with survival rates of 18.18% and 8.33%, these indicate probiotic potential, but further studies are necessary to enhance the efficacy of these strains.