Use of mannan oligosaccharides in diets of mares and their suckling foals
Published: October 2, 2006
By: EDGAR A. OTT - Alltech Inc.
Diarrhea in suckling foals is a major cause of wastage and veterinary expense in horse breeding farms. The diarrhea that occurs at 9 to 14 days of age is apparently a natural adjustment to the establishment of environmental microbes in the hindgut of the foal and is of little consequence to most foals as it is generally resolved with little or no medical intervention. This diarrhea is generally self-limiting and will subside without treatment in 2 to 4 days. The use of probiotics may help the foal through this stress. However, diarrheas that start shortly after birth and those that occur later in lactation are generally pathological in nature and are of major concern to the horse owner. A number of organisms may be involved including, but not limited to, Clostridium perfrigens (East et al., 2000), Clostridium difficili (Jones et al., 1988), Salmonella typhimurium and other Salmonella spp. (Hathcock et al., 1999), Ehrlichia risticii and rotavirus (Powell et al.,1997). These organisms establish themselves in the digestive tract and result in diarrhea, sepsis and death of the foal. Protection from these organisms includes a clean environment to minimize exposure, passive immunity in the foal via the colostrum, and in some cases preemptive antibiotic treatment. Failure of the mare to provide adequate antibodies via the colostrum can be monitored and supplemental antibodies provided to the foal via a colostrum bank or plasma. There may also be some other management tools available to help control this problem.
Mannose
Carbohydrates are important surface entities of many animal cells. Mannose is one of these carbohydrates. Mannose-specific lectins are utilized by many gastrointestinal pathogens as a means of attachment to the gut epithelium (Mirelman and Ofek, 1986). One method of preventing, minimizing or breaking the attachment of these organisms to the gut wall is to provide an abundance of material that will bind mannose lectins. E. coli with mannose-specific lectins did not attach to mammalian cells when supplemental mannose was present (Salit and Gotschlich, 1977). The addition of mannose to a tissue culture with E. coli attached to cells efficiently removed the E. coli attachment (Ofek and Beachey, 1987). Mannose oligosaccharide has been shown to reduce the colonization of a number of pathogens in poultry (Oyofo et al., 1989a, b; Spring, 1997; Spring et al., 2000) and decreased Clostridium concentrations in dogs and poultry (Finucane et al., 1999; Strickling, 1999). This may be applicable to diarrhea problems in foals since clostridia are often implicated in these cases (Jones et al., 1988).
Influence of ribose and Bio-Mos® supplementation of foaling mares on immune responses in the mare and foal and diarrhea in the foals
In recent years we have experienced a high incidence of diarrhea problems in the University of Florida’s Horse Research Center breeding herd. Most of these have been resolved via normal treatment procedures. A few have resulted in the death of the foal. We have been unable to identify the agent causing these problems. In 2001, we decided to evaluate products reported to influence immune response in animals and that have the ability to influence gut microbial populations.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-one Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse mares were blocked by expected foaling date and assigned at random to control, ribose or mannan oligosaccharide (Bio-Mos®) treatment groups. Mares received bahiagrass pasture and/or coastal bermudagrass hay to appetite and a concentrate formulated to provide NRC (1989) recommended or higher levels of nutrients when fed with the specified forages (Table 1). The concentrate was fed at 0.75 kg/100 kg BW daily from -56 days to - 28 days, 1.0 kg/100 kg BW daily from -28 to foaling, 1.5 kg/100 kg BW daily from foaling to +84 days and at 1.0 kg/100 kg BW daily from +84 days to weaning. Concentrate intake was adjusted for body condition score by increasing the concentrate 20% for every unit below 5 and decreasing the concentrate 20% for every unit above 5. The ribosesupplemented group received the same diet plus 75 g of ribose top-dressed on the morning feeding. The Bio-Mos®-group received the same diet plus10 g of Bio-Mos® top-dressed on the morning feeding.
The mares were weighed, measured for heart girth and given a condition score (Henneke et al., 1981; Ott and Asquith, 1981) at the start of the experiment and at 28 day intervals until weaning. Blood samples were collected from the mares at -28, 0 (foaling), + 28 and +56 days. Colostrum was collected from the mares within 6 hr of parturition and milk samples collected on day 3. Foals were weighed and measured for withers height, heart girth, body length and hip height at birth and at 28 day intervals to weaning at 112 days. Fecal scores were assigned to each foal daily to assess the gastrointestinal health status of the foal. Blood from mares and foals, as well as colostrum and milk were analyzed for IgG, IgA, and IgM.
RESULTS
Two mares aborted prior to due date and their data were excluded from the record. A third mare had a septic foal that died shortly after birth. Her data were also excluded. There was no difference in weight or condition score between treatment groups (Table 2). The foals from the Bio-Mos® treated mares were smaller than the foals from the other two groups at birth and they did not catch up by the end of the experiment (Table 3).
Serum IgG, IgA, and IgM values for the mares were not influenced by diet (Table 4). Although mares on the Bio-Mos treatment had higher IgA values and tended to have numerically higher IgG and IgM values than the other two groups, these differences were present at the start of the experiment and may have not been due to treatment. Several mares starting dripping milk prior to parturition (11 hr to 12 days). It was determined that the colostrum collected from these mares after parturition was considerably lower in IgG than for those mares that did not leak milk, and their foals were provided supplemental colostrum.
Although we intended to collect colostrum samples within 3 hr of parturition, this was not always accomplished. There was a negative correlation between the time after parturition that the colostrum was collected and the IgG content. Colostrum collected during the first 2 hr postpartum had a mean IgG concentration of 17,483 ± 1309. During the next hour it decreased to 13,643 ± 1,879, and at 10 to 12 hr postpartum it decreased to 1,474 ± 654. For the purposes of evaluating the relationship between colostrum IgG and foal serum IgG, only those animals for which a colostrum sample was collected during the first 3 hrs after parturition by mares that did not leak milk prior to parturition were used.
Foal serum IgG and IgA values were not different between groups, but foal IgM values were higher for the foals from mares supplemented with Bio- Mos® (P = 0.0392) on day 0 (Table 5). IgG values gradually decreased to 56 days with the Bio-Mos® foals having a numerical advantage throughout the study. Fecal scores on the foals revealed that some of the foals exhibited diarrhea at about 56 days of age. In all cases the diarrhea was treated successfully and the foals recovered. There was more diarrhea in the Control foals than the other two groups. Five of the six control foals exhibited diarrhea severe enough to be treated (Table 6). Three of the foals from the ribose-treated mares and none of the foals from the Bio-Mos-treated mares exhibited severe diarrhea (P = 0.021). These data suggest that Bio-Mos® supplementation may have caused the mares to secrete additional antibodies in the colostrum and that the foals receiving these antibodies were better able to cope with microbial challenges to the digestive system. An alternative may be that the foals from the Bio- Mos® mares consumed Bio-Mos® from the dam’s feed tub and received a direct benefit of lowered gut pathogen susceptibility.
Conclusions
Diarrhea in neonatal foals is a major concern for horse breeders. With the exception of the diarrhea that occurs in most foals at 7 to 14 days of age, diarrhea usually indicates the present of pathogens in the digestive tract. These organisms may be sequestered in the gut, treated and destroyed or they may invade the body and become systemic. Control of these challenges is a combination of environmental hygiene, passive antibody status of the foal, antibiotic treatment and hydration. The current experiment has suggested that mannose oligosaccharide may provide a management tool that will suppress colonization of pathological organisms that cause diarrhea in the foal.
References
East, L.M., D.A. Dargatz, J.L. Traub-Dargatz and C.J. Savage. 2000. Foaling-management practices associated with the occurrence of enterocolitis attributed to Clostridium perfringens infection in equine neonate. Prev. Vet. Med. 46:61-74.
Finucane, M.C., K.A. Dawson, P. Spring and K.E. Newman. 1999. The effect of mannan oligosaccharide on the composition of the microflora in turkey poults. Poultry Sci. 78 (Suppl. 1):77.
Hathcock, T.L., J. Schumacher, J.C. Wright and J. Stringfellow. 1999. The prevalence of Aeromonas species in feces of horses with diarrhea. J. Vet. Inter. Med. 13:357-360.
Henneke, D. R., G.D. Potter and J.L. Kreider. 1981. A condition score relationship to body fat content of mares during gestation and lactation. Proc. 7th Equine Nutr. Phy. Sym. p. 105.
Jones, R.L., R.K. Shideler and G.L. Cockerell. 1988. Association of Clostridium difficile with foal diarrhea. Equine Infectious Diseases V. Proc 5th Intl. Conf. 236-240.
Mirelman, D. and I. Ofek. 1986. Introduction to microbial lectins and agglutinin. In: Microbial lectins and agglutins-properties and biological activity. (D. Mirelman, ed) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. p. 1.
NRC. 1989. Nutrient Requirements of Horses. 5th ed. National Academy Press, Washington D.C.
Ofec, I. and E.H. Beachey. 1978. Mannose binding and epithelial cell adherence of Escherichia coli. Infect. and Immun. 22:247-254.
Oyofo, B.A., R.E. Droleskey, J.O. Norman, H.H. Mollenhauer, R.L. Ziprin, D.E. Corrier and J. R. DeLoach. 1989a. Inhibition by mannose of in vitro colonization of chicken small intestine by Salmonella typhimurium. Poult. Sci. 68:1351- 1356.
Oyofo, B.A., J.R. DeLoach, D.E. Corrier, J.O. Norman, R.L. Ziprin and H. H. Mollenhauer. 1989b. Prevention of Salmonella typhimurium colonization of broilers with d-mannose. Poult Sci. 68:1357-1360.
Ott, E.A. and R.L. Asquith. 1981. Vitamin and mineral supplementation of foaling mares. Proc. 7th Equine Nutr. Phy. Sym. p. 44.
Powell, D.G., R.M. Dwyer, J.L. Traub-Dargatz, R.H. Fulker, J.W. Whalen, Jr., J. Srinivasappa, E.M. Acree and H.J. Chu. 1997. Field study of the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of an inactive equine rotavirus vaccine. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 211:193-198.
Salit, I.E. and E. C. Gotschlich. 1977. Type I Escherichia coli pili: characterization of binding to monkey kidney cells. J. Exp. Med. 146:1182- 1194.
Spring, P. 1997. Effects of mannan oligosaccharide on different cecal parameters and on cecal concentrations of enteric pathogens in poultry. PhD Dissertation. Swiss Fed. Inst. of Tech.
Spring, P., C. Wenk, K.A. Dawson and K. E. Newman. 2000. The effects of mannan oligosaccharide on cecal parameters and the concentrations of enteric bacteria in the ceca of Salmonella-challenged broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 79:205-211.
Strickling, J.A. 1999. Evaluation of oligosaccharide addition to dog diets: influence on nutrient digestion and microbial populations. Masters Thesis. University of Kentucky.
Mannose
Carbohydrates are important surface entities of many animal cells. Mannose is one of these carbohydrates. Mannose-specific lectins are utilized by many gastrointestinal pathogens as a means of attachment to the gut epithelium (Mirelman and Ofek, 1986). One method of preventing, minimizing or breaking the attachment of these organisms to the gut wall is to provide an abundance of material that will bind mannose lectins. E. coli with mannose-specific lectins did not attach to mammalian cells when supplemental mannose was present (Salit and Gotschlich, 1977). The addition of mannose to a tissue culture with E. coli attached to cells efficiently removed the E. coli attachment (Ofek and Beachey, 1987). Mannose oligosaccharide has been shown to reduce the colonization of a number of pathogens in poultry (Oyofo et al., 1989a, b; Spring, 1997; Spring et al., 2000) and decreased Clostridium concentrations in dogs and poultry (Finucane et al., 1999; Strickling, 1999). This may be applicable to diarrhea problems in foals since clostridia are often implicated in these cases (Jones et al., 1988).
Influence of ribose and Bio-Mos® supplementation of foaling mares on immune responses in the mare and foal and diarrhea in the foals
In recent years we have experienced a high incidence of diarrhea problems in the University of Florida’s Horse Research Center breeding herd. Most of these have been resolved via normal treatment procedures. A few have resulted in the death of the foal. We have been unable to identify the agent causing these problems. In 2001, we decided to evaluate products reported to influence immune response in animals and that have the ability to influence gut microbial populations.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-one Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse mares were blocked by expected foaling date and assigned at random to control, ribose or mannan oligosaccharide (Bio-Mos®) treatment groups. Mares received bahiagrass pasture and/or coastal bermudagrass hay to appetite and a concentrate formulated to provide NRC (1989) recommended or higher levels of nutrients when fed with the specified forages (Table 1). The concentrate was fed at 0.75 kg/100 kg BW daily from -56 days to - 28 days, 1.0 kg/100 kg BW daily from -28 to foaling, 1.5 kg/100 kg BW daily from foaling to +84 days and at 1.0 kg/100 kg BW daily from +84 days to weaning. Concentrate intake was adjusted for body condition score by increasing the concentrate 20% for every unit below 5 and decreasing the concentrate 20% for every unit above 5. The ribosesupplemented group received the same diet plus 75 g of ribose top-dressed on the morning feeding. The Bio-Mos®-group received the same diet plus10 g of Bio-Mos® top-dressed on the morning feeding.
The mares were weighed, measured for heart girth and given a condition score (Henneke et al., 1981; Ott and Asquith, 1981) at the start of the experiment and at 28 day intervals until weaning. Blood samples were collected from the mares at -28, 0 (foaling), + 28 and +56 days. Colostrum was collected from the mares within 6 hr of parturition and milk samples collected on day 3. Foals were weighed and measured for withers height, heart girth, body length and hip height at birth and at 28 day intervals to weaning at 112 days. Fecal scores were assigned to each foal daily to assess the gastrointestinal health status of the foal. Blood from mares and foals, as well as colostrum and milk were analyzed for IgG, IgA, and IgM.
RESULTS
Two mares aborted prior to due date and their data were excluded from the record. A third mare had a septic foal that died shortly after birth. Her data were also excluded. There was no difference in weight or condition score between treatment groups (Table 2). The foals from the Bio-Mos® treated mares were smaller than the foals from the other two groups at birth and they did not catch up by the end of the experiment (Table 3).
Serum IgG, IgA, and IgM values for the mares were not influenced by diet (Table 4). Although mares on the Bio-Mos treatment had higher IgA values and tended to have numerically higher IgG and IgM values than the other two groups, these differences were present at the start of the experiment and may have not been due to treatment. Several mares starting dripping milk prior to parturition (11 hr to 12 days). It was determined that the colostrum collected from these mares after parturition was considerably lower in IgG than for those mares that did not leak milk, and their foals were provided supplemental colostrum.
Although we intended to collect colostrum samples within 3 hr of parturition, this was not always accomplished. There was a negative correlation between the time after parturition that the colostrum was collected and the IgG content. Colostrum collected during the first 2 hr postpartum had a mean IgG concentration of 17,483 ± 1309. During the next hour it decreased to 13,643 ± 1,879, and at 10 to 12 hr postpartum it decreased to 1,474 ± 654. For the purposes of evaluating the relationship between colostrum IgG and foal serum IgG, only those animals for which a colostrum sample was collected during the first 3 hrs after parturition by mares that did not leak milk prior to parturition were used.
Foal serum IgG and IgA values were not different between groups, but foal IgM values were higher for the foals from mares supplemented with Bio- Mos® (P = 0.0392) on day 0 (Table 5). IgG values gradually decreased to 56 days with the Bio-Mos® foals having a numerical advantage throughout the study. Fecal scores on the foals revealed that some of the foals exhibited diarrhea at about 56 days of age. In all cases the diarrhea was treated successfully and the foals recovered. There was more diarrhea in the Control foals than the other two groups. Five of the six control foals exhibited diarrhea severe enough to be treated (Table 6). Three of the foals from the ribose-treated mares and none of the foals from the Bio-Mos-treated mares exhibited severe diarrhea (P = 0.021). These data suggest that Bio-Mos® supplementation may have caused the mares to secrete additional antibodies in the colostrum and that the foals receiving these antibodies were better able to cope with microbial challenges to the digestive system. An alternative may be that the foals from the Bio- Mos® mares consumed Bio-Mos® from the dam’s feed tub and received a direct benefit of lowered gut pathogen susceptibility.
Conclusions
Diarrhea in neonatal foals is a major concern for horse breeders. With the exception of the diarrhea that occurs in most foals at 7 to 14 days of age, diarrhea usually indicates the present of pathogens in the digestive tract. These organisms may be sequestered in the gut, treated and destroyed or they may invade the body and become systemic. Control of these challenges is a combination of environmental hygiene, passive antibody status of the foal, antibiotic treatment and hydration. The current experiment has suggested that mannose oligosaccharide may provide a management tool that will suppress colonization of pathological organisms that cause diarrhea in the foal.
References
East, L.M., D.A. Dargatz, J.L. Traub-Dargatz and C.J. Savage. 2000. Foaling-management practices associated with the occurrence of enterocolitis attributed to Clostridium perfringens infection in equine neonate. Prev. Vet. Med. 46:61-74.
Finucane, M.C., K.A. Dawson, P. Spring and K.E. Newman. 1999. The effect of mannan oligosaccharide on the composition of the microflora in turkey poults. Poultry Sci. 78 (Suppl. 1):77.
Hathcock, T.L., J. Schumacher, J.C. Wright and J. Stringfellow. 1999. The prevalence of Aeromonas species in feces of horses with diarrhea. J. Vet. Inter. Med. 13:357-360.
Henneke, D. R., G.D. Potter and J.L. Kreider. 1981. A condition score relationship to body fat content of mares during gestation and lactation. Proc. 7th Equine Nutr. Phy. Sym. p. 105.
Jones, R.L., R.K. Shideler and G.L. Cockerell. 1988. Association of Clostridium difficile with foal diarrhea. Equine Infectious Diseases V. Proc 5th Intl. Conf. 236-240.
Mirelman, D. and I. Ofek. 1986. Introduction to microbial lectins and agglutinin. In: Microbial lectins and agglutins-properties and biological activity. (D. Mirelman, ed) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. p. 1.
NRC. 1989. Nutrient Requirements of Horses. 5th ed. National Academy Press, Washington D.C.
Ofec, I. and E.H. Beachey. 1978. Mannose binding and epithelial cell adherence of Escherichia coli. Infect. and Immun. 22:247-254.
Oyofo, B.A., R.E. Droleskey, J.O. Norman, H.H. Mollenhauer, R.L. Ziprin, D.E. Corrier and J. R. DeLoach. 1989a. Inhibition by mannose of in vitro colonization of chicken small intestine by Salmonella typhimurium. Poult. Sci. 68:1351- 1356.
Oyofo, B.A., J.R. DeLoach, D.E. Corrier, J.O. Norman, R.L. Ziprin and H. H. Mollenhauer. 1989b. Prevention of Salmonella typhimurium colonization of broilers with d-mannose. Poult Sci. 68:1357-1360.
Ott, E.A. and R.L. Asquith. 1981. Vitamin and mineral supplementation of foaling mares. Proc. 7th Equine Nutr. Phy. Sym. p. 44.
Powell, D.G., R.M. Dwyer, J.L. Traub-Dargatz, R.H. Fulker, J.W. Whalen, Jr., J. Srinivasappa, E.M. Acree and H.J. Chu. 1997. Field study of the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of an inactive equine rotavirus vaccine. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 211:193-198.
Salit, I.E. and E. C. Gotschlich. 1977. Type I Escherichia coli pili: characterization of binding to monkey kidney cells. J. Exp. Med. 146:1182- 1194.
Spring, P. 1997. Effects of mannan oligosaccharide on different cecal parameters and on cecal concentrations of enteric pathogens in poultry. PhD Dissertation. Swiss Fed. Inst. of Tech.
Spring, P., C. Wenk, K.A. Dawson and K. E. Newman. 2000. The effects of mannan oligosaccharide on cecal parameters and the concentrations of enteric bacteria in the ceca of Salmonella-challenged broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 79:205-211.
Strickling, J.A. 1999. Evaluation of oligosaccharide addition to dog diets: influence on nutrient digestion and microbial populations. Masters Thesis. University of Kentucky.
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