TY - JOUR

T1 - Dietary phytonutrients and animal health: regulation of immune function during gastrointestinal infections

AU - Williams, Andrew R

AU - Andersen-Civil, Audrey I S

AU - Zhu, Ling

AU - Blanchard, Alexandra

N1 - © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The composition of dietary macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fibres) and micronutrients (vitamins, phytochemicals) can markedly influence the development of immune responses to enteric infection. This has important implications for livestock production, where a significant challenge exists to ensure healthy and productive animals in an era of increasing drug resistance and concerns about the sector's environmental footprint. Nutritional intervention may ultimately be a sustainable method to prevent disease and improve efficiency of livestock enterprises, and it is now well-established that certain phytonutrients can significantly improve animal performance during challenge with infectious pathogens. However, many questions remain unanswered concerning the complex interplay between diet, immunity and infection. In this review, we examine the role of phytonutrients in regulating immune and inflammatory responses during enteric bacterial and parasitic infections in livestock, with a specific focus on some increasingly well-studied phytochemical classes - polyphenols (especially proanthocyanidins), essential oil components (cinnamaldehyde, eugenol and carvacrol), and curcumin. Despite the contrasting chemical structures of these molecules, they appear to induce a number of similar immunological responses. These include promotion of mucosal antibody and anti-microbial peptide production, coupled with a strong suppression of inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. Whilst there have been some recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying their bioactivity, how these phytonutrients modulate immune responses in the intestine remains mostly unknown. We discuss the complex inter-relationships between metabolism of dietary phytonutrients, the gut microbiota and the mucosal immune system, and propose that an increased understanding of the basic immunological mechanisms involved will allow the rational development of novel dietary additives to promote intestinal health in farmed animals.

AB - The composition of dietary macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fibres) and micronutrients (vitamins, phytochemicals) can markedly influence the development of immune responses to enteric infection. This has important implications for livestock production, where a significant challenge exists to ensure healthy and productive animals in an era of increasing drug resistance and concerns about the sector's environmental footprint. Nutritional intervention may ultimately be a sustainable method to prevent disease and improve efficiency of livestock enterprises, and it is now well-established that certain phytonutrients can significantly improve animal performance during challenge with infectious pathogens. However, many questions remain unanswered concerning the complex interplay between diet, immunity and infection. In this review, we examine the role of phytonutrients in regulating immune and inflammatory responses during enteric bacterial and parasitic infections in livestock, with a specific focus on some increasingly well-studied phytochemical classes - polyphenols (especially proanthocyanidins), essential oil components (cinnamaldehyde, eugenol and carvacrol), and curcumin. Despite the contrasting chemical structures of these molecules, they appear to induce a number of similar immunological responses. These include promotion of mucosal antibody and anti-microbial peptide production, coupled with a strong suppression of inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. Whilst there have been some recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying their bioactivity, how these phytonutrients modulate immune responses in the intestine remains mostly unknown. We discuss the complex inter-relationships between metabolism of dietary phytonutrients, the gut microbiota and the mucosal immune system, and propose that an increased understanding of the basic immunological mechanisms involved will allow the rational development of novel dietary additives to promote intestinal health in farmed animals.

U2 - 10.1093/jas/skaa030

DO - 10.1093/jas/skaa030

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31999321

VL - 98

JO - Journal of Animal Science

JF - Journal of Animal Science

SN - 0021-8812

IS - 4

M1 - skaa030

ER -