Submit to Animals Review for Animals Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 15576

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Maria Teresa Capucchio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Interests: gut health evaluation; morpho-histology; immunohistochemistry; mucin evaluation; neuromuscular diseases; animal model; host/pathogens interactions in comparative medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent times, the term “gut health” has become increasingly popular as a state of physical wellbeing in the absence of gastrointestinal complaints. There is clear evidence that the gastrointestinal tract function goes further than feed processing. In fact, the gut has an impact on general health through ensuring digestion and absorption of nutrients, minerals, and fluids; through the induction of mucosal and systemic tolerance; through defense of the host against biological and other pathogens; and through signaling from the periphery to the brain. For this reason, in veterinary medicine, gut health can be considered synonymous to animal health and can offer a new approach to preventive medicine. Gut health depends on the maintenance of a delicate balance between the host, the gut mucosal barrier/microbiota, the diet, and the environment in which the animal lives.

Original research papers and reviews that address different strategies (nutritional, environmental or clinical strategies) to improve and maintain the different components of gut health (e.g., intestinal morphology, microbiota, mucins, immune responses/cytokine expression) in food-producing, companion animals, and animal models are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Maria Teresa Capucchio
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

gut health
animal health
nutrition
probiotic
prebiotic
microbiota
molecular biology
histology
immunology
clinical pathology

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

18 pages, 837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Dietary Supplementation with Sodium Butyrate Protected by Medium-Chain Fatty Acid Salts on Gut Health of Broiler Chickens

by Meritxell Sadurní, Ana Cristina Barroeta, Roser Sala, Cinta Sol, Mónica Puyalto and Lorena Castillejos

Animals 2022, 12(19), 2496; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192496 - 20 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2033

Abstract

Nutritional strategies to improve gut health of broilers are under research. This study investigated the effect of dietary supplementation with sodium butyrate protected by sodium salts of medium-chain fatty acids as a feed additive on broiler gut health. The first experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing at 0.5, 1, and 2 kg/t in broilers housed under optimal conditions. Supplementation at 0.5 and 1 kg/t maintained goblet cell counts at 10 days of age (p ≤ 0.05), and supplementation at 1 kg/t decreased intraepithelial lymphocyte counts compared to 2 kg/t at 39 days (p ≤ 0.10). Abdominal fat pad levels of lauric and myristic acids were gradually increased by supplement dose (p ≤ 0.05). In the second experiment, the feed additive at 1 kg/t was evaluated in coccidiosis-challenged broilers. Experimental treatments were as follows: non-challenged, control-challenged, and supplemented-challenged treatments. Coccidiosis negatively impact performance and modify histomorphometry and microbiota (p ≤ 0.05). The feed additive increased crypt depth at 7 days post-inoculation and goblet cell count at 14 days post-inoculation (p ≤ 0.05). Further, supplementation interacted with the microbiota modification led by the coccidiosis (p ≤ 0.05). These results suggest that this feed additive could be a useful strategy to reinforce the gut barrier, especially for birds under coccidiosis-challenge treatments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

26 pages, 2743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modulatory Impacts of Multi-Strain Probiotics on Rabbits’ Growth, Nutrient Transporters, Tight Junctions and Immune System to Fight against Listeria monocytogenes Infection

by Marwa I. Abd El-Hamid, Doaa Ibrahim, Rehab I. Hamed, Heba H. Nossieur, Mariam Hassan Elbanna, Heba Baz, Ehab. M. Abd-Allah, Amal S. A. El Oksh, Ghada A. Ibrahim, Eman Khalifa, Tamer Ahmed Ismail and Naglaa F. S. Awad

Animals 2022, 12(16), 2082; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12162082 - 15 Aug 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2291

Abstract

Multi-strain probiotics (MSP) are considered innovative antibiotics’ substitutes supporting superior gut health and immunity of farmed rabbits. The promising roles of MSP on performance, intestinal immunity, integrity and transporters, and resistance against Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) were evaluated. In the feeding trial, 220 rabbits were fed a control diet or diet supplemented with three MSP graded levels. At 60 days of age, rabbits were experimentally infected with L. monocytogenes and the positive control, enrofloxacin, prophylactic MSP (MSPP), and prophylactic and therapeutic MSP (MSPTT) groups were included. During the growing period, MSP at the level of 1 × 10⁸ CFU/kg diet (MSPIII) promoted the rabbits’ growth, upregulated the nutrient transporters and tight-junction-related genes, and modified cytokines expression. Supplementing MSPTT for L. monocytogenes experimentally-infected rabbits restored the impaired growth and intestinal barriers, reduced clinical signs of severity and mortalities, and attenuated the excessive inflammatory reactions. Notably, enrofloxacin decreased L. monocytogenes and beneficial microbial loads; unlike MSPTT, which decreased pathogenic bacterial loads and sustained the beneficial ones. Histopathological changes were greatly reduced in MSPTT, confirming its promising role in restricting L. monocytogenes translocation to different organs. Therefore, our results suggest the use of MSPTT as an alternative to antibiotics, thereby conferring protection for rabbits against L. monocytogenes infection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Short-Chain and Total Fatty Acid Profile of Faeces or Plasma as Predictors of Food-Responsive Enteropathy in Dogs: A Preliminary Study

by Cristina Higueras, Ana I. Rey, Rosa Escudero, David Díaz-Regañón, Fernando Rodríguez-Franco, Mercedes García-Sancho, Beatriz Agulla and Angel Sainz

Animals 2022, 12(1), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12010089 - 31 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2268

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and the total fatty acid profile of faeces or plasma as possible indicators of FRE in comparison with healthy dogs. FRE dogs had a lower concentration (p = 0.026) of plasma α-tocopherol as an indicator of the oxidative status of the animal, and lower C20:5n-3 (p = 0.033), C22:5n-3 (p = 0.005), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (p = 0.021) and n-6 (p = 0.041) when compared with the control dogs; furthermore, sick dogs had higher proportions of plasma C20:3n-6 (p = 0.0056). The dogs with FRE showed a decrease in the production of faecal levels of SCFAs, mainly propionic acid (C3) (p = 0.0001) and isovaleric acid (iC5) (p = 0.014). FRE dogs also had a lower proportion of C15:0 (p = 0.0003), C16:1n-9 (p = 0.0095), C16:1n-7 (p = 0.0001), C20:5n-3 (p = 0.0034) and monounsaturated fatty acids (p = 0.0315), and tended to have lower n-3 (p = 0.058) and a reduced desaturase activity index in the stool when compared with the control group. However, the dogs with chronic enteropathy tended to have greater C20:4n-6 (p = 0.065) in their faeces as signs of damage at the intestinal level. The faecal parameters were better predictors than plasma. The highest correlations between faecal odd-chain, medium- or long-chain fatty acids and SCFAs were observed for C15:0 that correlated positively with faecal acetic acid (C2) (r = 0.72, p = 0.004), propionic acid (r = 0.95, p = 0.0001), isobutyric acid (iC4) (r = 0.59, p = 0.027) and isovaleric acid (r = 0.64, p = 0.0136), as well as with total SCFAs (r = 0.61, p = 0.02). Conversely, faecal C20:4n-6 showed a high inverse correlation (r = −0.83, p = 0.0002) with C2 and C3 (r = −0.59, p = 0.027). Canine inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity (CIBDAI) index correlated negatively mainly with faecal measurements, such as C3 (r = −0.869, p = 0.0005) and C15:0 (r = −0.825, p = 0.0018), followed by C16:1/C16:0 (r = −0.66, p= 0.0374) and iC5 (r = −0.648, p = 0.0310), which would indicate that these fatty acids could be good non-invasive indicators of the chronic inflammatory status, specifically FRE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine)

12 pages, 2615 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Insect Live Larvae as Environmental Enrichment on Poultry Gut Health: Gut Mucin Composition, Microbiota and Local Immune Response Evaluation

by Elena Colombino, Ilaria Biasato, Ilario Ferrocino, Sara Bellezza Oddon, Christian Caimi, Marta Gariglio, Sihem Dabbou, Marta Caramori, Elena Battisti, Stefania Zanet, Ezio Ferroglio, Luca Cocolin, Laura Gasco, Achille Schiavone and Maria Teresa Capucchio

Animals 2021, 11(10), 2819; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102819 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2741

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Hermetia illucens (HI) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) live larvae as environmental enrichment on the mucin composition, local immune response and microbiota of broilers. A total of 180 four-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments (six replicates/treatment; ten animals/replicate): (i) control (C); (ii) C+HI; (iii) C+TM. Live larvae were distributed based on 5% of the expected daily feed intake. At slaughter (39 days of age), samples of duodenum, jejunum and ileum (twelve animals/diet) were submitted to mucin histochemical evaluation. Expression of MUC-2 and cytokines was evaluated by rt-qPCR in jejunum. Mucin staining intensity was not influenced by diet (p > 0.05); however, this varied depending on the intestinal segment (p < 0.001). No significant differences were recorded for IL-4, IL-6 TNF-α, MUC-2 and INF-γ gene expression in jejunum, while IL-2 was lower in the TM group compared to HI and C (p = 0.044). Caecal microbiota showed higher abundance of Clostridium, Saccharibacteria and Victivallaceae in the HI group, while Collinsella was higher in the TM group. The results suggested that live insect larvae did not impair mucin composition or local immune response, and can slightly improve caecal microbiota by enhancing a minor fraction of short chain fatty acid-producing taxa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Porcine Milk-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Promote Intestinal Immunoglobulin Production through pIgR

by Bin Zeng, Hailong Wang, Junyi Luo, Meiying Xie, Zhengjiang Zhao, Xingping Chen, Dongyang Wang, Jiajie Sun, Qianyun Xi, Ting Chen and Yongliang Zhang

Animals 2021, 11(6), 1522; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061522 - 24 May 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2881

Abstract

Secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) plays an important role in gut acquired immunity and mucosal homeostasis. Breast milk is the irreplaceable nutritional source for mammals after birth. Current studies have shown the potential functional role of milk-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) and their RNAs cargo in intestinal health and immune regulation. However, there is a lack of studies to demonstrate how milk-derived sEVs affect intestinal immunity in recipient. In this study, through in vivo experiments, we found that porcine milk small extracellular vesicles (PM-sEVs) promoted intestinal SIgA levels, and increased the expression levels of polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) both in mice and piglet. We examined the mechanism of how PM-sEVs increased the expression level of pIgR in vitro by using a porcine small intestine epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2). Through bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assays, and overexpression or knockdown of the corresponding non-coding RNAs, we identified circ-XPO4 in PM-sEVs as a crucial circRNA, which leads to the expression of pIgR via the suppression of miR-221-5p in intestinal cells. Importantly, we also observed that oral administration of PM-sEVs increased the level of circ-XPO4 and decreased the level of miR-221-5p in small intestine of piglets, indicating that circRNAs in milk-derived sEVs act as sponge for miRNAs in recipients. This study, for the first time, reveals that PM-sEVs have a capacity to stimulate intestinal SIgA production by delivering circRNAs to receptors and sponging the recipient’s original miRNAs, and also provides valuable data for insight into the role and mechanism of animal milk sEVs in intestinal immunity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

15 pages, 3694 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Supplementation of Lactoferrin, Melittin and Cecropin A to Rat Diet on Changes in Faecal Ammonia Concentrations, Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentrations and Activities of Bacterial Enzymes

by Jerzy Juśkiewicz, Aleksandra Rawicka, Bartosz Fotschki, Michał Majewski and Zenon Zduńczyk

Animals 2021, 11(5), 1203; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051203 - 22 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1918

Abstract

We hypothesised that the dietary addition of the bioactive antimicrobial protein lactoferrin (LF) and peptides melittin (MT) or cecropin A (CR) at a dosage of 100 mg/kg to the diet of Wistar rats would result in strong modulatory effects on faecal microbial enzymatic activity, short-chain fatty acid and ammonia concentrations. To date, the changes in bacterial extracellular and intracellular enzymatic activities upon addition of dietary AMPs have not yet been studied. This experiment lasted 15 days; during the first 5 day period, the rats were fed the control diet (S) and diets supplemented with LF, MT or CR. On days 6–15, all rats were fed the control S diet. The faecal fermentation processes were substantially stopped after two days of treatment, on average, in all rats receiving LF and two AMPs. The deepest suppression effect was observed on the last day of treatment (day 5) and persisted through days 5–8. The highest decreases in faecal bacterial β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase activities as well as in SCFA and ammonia concentrations were observed in the rats fed the CR diet. Only in the CR animals did the mechanism of suppressed microbial fermentation involve diminished enzyme release from bacterial cells to the digesta. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Gut Health - Animal Health: An Indissoluble Binomial in Veterinary Nutrition and Medicine

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (6 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI