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Environmental enrichment with nylon gnaw sticks introduces variation in Sprague Dawley rat immune and lower gastrointestinal parameters with differences between sexes

Biomedical & Pharmacology Journal 2025
Mark Wulczynski, Stephen P. J. Brooks, Judy Green, Fernando Matias, Martin Kalmokoff, Julia M. Green-Johnson, Sandra T. Clarke

Summary

Researchers found that providing nylon gnaw sticks as environmental enrichment in rat studies significantly alters gut microbiota and immune parameters in a sex-dependent manner, demonstrating that enrichment strategies must be carefully reported and controlled in studies examining diet, microbiome, and immune function.

Polymers
Models

These findings indicate that including GS can influence microbiota and immune-related parameters, in a sex dependent manner. This shows that environmental enrichment strategies need to be clearly reported in publications to properly evaluate and compare experimental results, especially with respect to the use of chewable EE in the context of studies examining diet, microbiome and immune parameters.

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