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Research Advances in Nutritional Immunology in Non-ruminants: Immune Status and Antioxidant Capacity

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2023) | Viewed by 6636

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Prof. Dr. Radiah C. Minor

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Department of Animal Sciences, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
Interests: dietary immune modulation of non-ruminants; probiotics; prebiotics; inflammation; functional foods; medicinal plants; intestinal immunity and microbiome; milk and neonatal immunity
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A properly functioning and well-balanced immune system is essential for maintaining health. The immune system is not only a requirement for fighting pathogens naturally or through vaccinations, establishment, and maintenance of healthy microbiomes but is also associated with acute and chronic inflammatory conditions and many diseases and disorders. Diet and nutrition can impact immune responses. Several feed additives, particularly those containing antioxidant compounds, have been shown to improve the antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects of non-ruminant animals such as pigs, poultry, etc. To improve animal health, animal nutritionists have focused their studies on the relationships between diet and the immune system, and interest in using nutraceuticals and functional foods as immunomodulators in animal science and veterinary medicine is growing.

This Special Issue will focus on the use of feed and feed additives to modulate immune function and antioxidant capacity in non-ruminant animals. You are cordially invited to contribute to this theme or related research topics that improve our knowledge and understanding of the impact that nutrition has on the immune system of non-ruminant animals.

Dr. Radiah C. Minor
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

nutrition
feed additive
supplementation
diet
nutraceuticals
functional foods
immunity
host defense
immunomodulation
inflammation
antioxidant capacity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spray-Dried Plasma Promotes Broiler Chick Growth by Enhancing Immune Surveillance

by Candice E. C. Blue, Yasin Jababu, Salam A. Ibrahim, Radiah C. Minor, Leonard L. Williams, Adedeji O. Adetunji, Rizwana Ali, Lea S. Young and Yewande O. Fasina

Animals 2023, 13(9), 1436; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani13091436 - 22 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1298

Abstract

Spray-dried plasma (SDP) contain a variety of functional proteins that play an immunomodulatory role. To evaluate the potential of SDP to stimulate the immune system, day-old Ross 708 male broiler chicks (200) were allocated randomly to five dietary treatments. Treatment 1 (CX) comprised chicks fed basal unmedicated corn–soybean meal (SBM) without the addition of SDP. Treatment 2 (MX) includes chicks fed unmedicated corn–SBM basal containing Bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD) at 0.055 g/kg diet. Treatments 3 (SDP1), 4 (SDP2), and 5 (SDP3) contained chicks given unmedicated corn–SBM basal, into which SDP was included at 10, 20, and 30 g/kg diet, respectively. On d 7, 14, and 21, chicks’ body weight and FCR were calculated. Additionally, leucocyte counts, oxidative status, and IgY concentrations were determined in blood. On d 23, fecal populations of selected indicator bacteria species were determined. Results showed that FCR for SP3 was superior (p < 0.05) to other treatments. Likewise, heterophil numbers decreased in MX and SDP treatments compared to CX. Circulating IgY concentration was higher for SDP dietary treatments (p < 0.05) compared to MX. In conclusion, dietary SDP at 30 g/kg enhanced immune surveillance by increasing circulating IgY levels, maintaining a normal oxidative state, and increasing gut Bifidobacteria, thereby improving chick growth performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Nutritional Immunology in Non-ruminants: Immune Status and Antioxidant Capacity)

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13 pages, 2097 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Growth Performance, Antioxidant and Immunity Capacity Were Significantly Affected by Feeding Fermented Soybean Meal in Juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

by Qin Zhang, Fanghui Li, Mengjie Guo, Meilan Qin, Jiajing Wang, Hairui Yu, Jian Xu, Yongqiang Liu and Tong Tong

Animals 2023, 13(5), 945; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani13050945 - 6 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1839

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of partial dietary replacement of fish meal with unfermented and/or fermented soybean meal (fermented by Bacillus cereus) supplemented on the growth performance, whole-body composition, antioxidant and immunity capacity, and their related gene expression of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Four groups of juveniles (initial weight 159.63 ± 9.54 g) at 6 months of age in triplicate were fed for 12 weeks on four different iso-nitrogen (about 41% dietary protein) and iso-lipid (about 15% dietary lipid) experimental diets. The main results were: Compared with the control diet, the diet with replaced 10% fish meal protein with fermented soybean meal protein supplementation can significantly (p < 0.05) influence the expression of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-6 genes, the growth performance, the serum biochemical indices, and the activity of antioxidant and immunity enzymes. However, there was no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the survival rate (SR) and whole-body composition in the juveniles among the experimental groups. In conclusion, the diet with replaced 10% fish meal protein with fermented soybean meal protein supplementation could significantly increase the growth performance, antioxidant and immunity capacity, and their related gene expression of juveniles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Nutritional Immunology in Non-ruminants: Immune Status and Antioxidant Capacity)

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10 pages, 272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cold Drinking Water Boosts the Cellular and Humoral Immunity in Heat-Exposed Laying Hens

by Hatem M. Eltahan, Chang W. Kang, Vishwajit S. Chowdhury, Hossam M. Eltahan, Mostafa A. Abdel-Maksoud, Ayman Mubarak and Chun Ik Lim

Animals 2023, 13(4), 580; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani13040580 - 7 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1547

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cold drinking water on cellular and humoral immunity in heat-exposed laying hens. One hundred and eight laying hens at 19 weeks old were placed into three treatments with six replicates of six hens in each group as follows: (1) hens were provided with normal drinking water (NW) under the control of thermoneutral temperature (CT: 25 ± 1 °C; CT + NW), (2) hens were provided with NW under high ambient temperature (HT: 35 ± 1 °C; HT + NW) for 8 h/d for a month, and (3) hens were treated under HT with cold drinking water (CW: 15 ± 1 °C; HT + CW) for 8 h/d for a 4-weeks. Then, the feed consumption, egg production, egg weight, feed conversion ratio, and blood immune parameters were investigated. The results showed that cold drinking water (CW) caused a significant (p < 0.05) recovery in the reduction of food intake and egg production due to heat stress; however, there was no significant effect (p > 0.05) on egg weight and feed conversion ratio. Moreover, CW significantly (p < 0.05) restored the immune-suppressing effects of heat stress on the contents of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, including B-cell (BU-Ia), helper T cell (CD4), and the ratio of helper/cytotoxic T cell (CD4/CD8). In addition, CW significantly (p < 0.05) recovered the reduction on the level of mRNA expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), as well as significantly (p < 0.05) restored the reduction of plasma concentration of IL-2, IFN-γ and immunoglobulin G in heat-stressed laying hens. These results prove that CW increased heat dissipation and enhanced feed intake, egg production, and cellular and humoral immunity in heat-exposed laying hens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Nutritional Immunology in Non-ruminants: Immune Status and Antioxidant Capacity)

11 pages, 819 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Chinese Yam Polysaccharide on Carcass Composition, Meat Quality, and Antioxidant Capacity in Broilers

by Yadi Chang, Jinzhou Zhang, Yan Jin, Jiahua Deng, Mingyan Shi and Zhiguo Miao

Animals 2023, 13(3), 503; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ani13030503 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1451

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the influences of the dietary supplementation of Chinese yam polysaccharide (CYP) on the carcass performance, antioxidant capacity, and meat quality of broilers. Three hundred and sixty healthy 1-day-old broilers with similar body weight (39 ± 1 g, gender balanced) were randomly divided into four groups (control, CYP1, CYP2, and CYP3 groups). In the control group, broilers were fed a basal diet with CYP, and the CYP1, CYP2, and CYP3 groups were fed diets supplemented with 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg CYP, respectively. There were three replicates in each group, 30 birds in each replicate, and the feeding trial lasted for 48 days. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) by one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that compared with the control group, dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg CYP can improve live weight, half-eviscerated carcass percentage, eviscerated carcass percentage, and thigh muscle percentage. Moreover, dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg CYP can improve the contents of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione s-transferase (GST) in serum (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the mRNA expression levels of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1), and catalase (CAT) in the liver; the mRNA expression levels of HO-1, NQO1, GPX1, and CAT in the breast muscle; and the mRNA expression levels of NQO1, SOD1, and CAT in the thigh muscle of broilers in the CYP2 group were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, the yellowness and shear force of the thigh and breast muscles and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum of broilers in the control group were higher than that in the CYP2 groups (p < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the CYP2 group had the best effect on improving meat quality. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 500 mg/kg CYP can improve the meat quality of broilers by improving carcass quality, meat color, shear force, and antioxidant capacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Advances in Nutritional Immunology in Non-ruminants: Immune Status and Antioxidant Capacity)

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