Effects of Diet on Small Animal Health

Dear Colleagues,

The nutrition of dogs and cats is of increasing importance in relation to the state of health and wellbeing of animals. In particular, in recent years, scientific research has focused on aspects related to the study of the mechanisms through which some nutrients act in improving the response of the organism and/or some organs to pathological processes. In this field, the study of functional foods and nutraceutical principles, both of animal and vegetable origin, is of considerable importance, in order to provide the veterinarian with an additional therapeutic tool in the clinical setting. The fields of study in which notable results are being achieved are those relating to the intestinal microbiota of the dog and cat and how, through diet, it is possible to positively influence the bacterial balance especially towards the metabolism in order to identify those metabolites that are involved in processes to improve the efficiency of the intestinal barrier. Furthermore, the intestinal microbiota is intimately linked to other organs such as the liver and the brain, intervening in modulating numerous metabolic, endocrine, and nervous signals. Another very interesting field of application for veterinary clinical practice is the study of lipidomics, which allows, in a dynamic way, verifying the effects of the different lipidic contributions of the diet on the fatty acid composition of membrane phospholipids in order to be able to evaluate the inflammatory state of the animal.

This Special Issue on “Effects of Diet on Small Animal Health” aims to increase the flow and exchange of information between the various veterinary disciplines through the publication of a selection of research articles from leading laboratories in this field. It is hoped that this problem will further stimulate collaboration between researchers engaged in studying aspects of the research concerning the effect of diet on animal health.

Prof. Alessandro Gramenzi
Prof. Dr. Andrea Boari
Guest Editors

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