Nutritional Immunomodulation in Livestock Systems
Summary
Nutritional immunomodulation in livestock systems integrates dietary strategies with host immunity to enhance disease resistance and productivity. By harnessing bioactive feed components such as probiotics, prebiotics, functional peptides and phytonutrients, it is possible to modulate innate and adaptive immune responses, improve gut barrier integrity and shape the composition and activity of the intestinal microbiota. These interventions offer viable alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters, aligning with global efforts to reduce antibiotic use and mitigate antimicrobial resistance.
Across ruminant, porcine and poultry production, optimising feed formulations can bolster mucosal immunity, limit pathogen colonisation and reduce inflammatory stress. The interplay between dietary substrates and immune signalling pathways—particularly those mediated by pattern-recognition receptors and cytokine networks—underpins this field. Practical applications range from enhancing vaccine efficacy and reducing enteric disease incidence to improving feed efficiency, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Emerging research highlights the importance of a systems-level approach that integrates nutritional science, immunology and microbiome ecology to deliver precision health strategies for livestock.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have demonstrated that live yeast supplementation can recalibrate the hindgut microbiota of weanling piglets, yielding more phylogenetically cohesive communities and enriching taxa associated with health. Supplementation enhanced average daily gain and feed intake, while network analyses revealed strengthened positive interactions among beneficial bacterial genera in the caecum. These findings suggest that live yeast fosters intestinal homeostasis and contributes to improved post-weaning performance by stabilising microbial ecosystems and supporting gut immune functions.
Nutritional Immunomodulation in Livestock Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in nutritional immunomodulation in livestock systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Nutritional immunomodulation: modulation of immune function through dietary components.
Probiotics: live microorganisms that confer health benefits to the host when administered in adequate amounts.
Prebiotics: selectively fermented ingredients that induce specific changes in the composition or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota.
Gut microbiota: the community of microorganisms inhabiting the digestive tract.
TLR4/NF-κB pathway: a cellular signalling cascade in innate immunity activated by microbial components such as lipopolysaccharide.
Villus height: measurement of the length of intestinal villi, reflecting absorptive capacity of the gut.
Feed conversion ratio: the efficiency with which animals convert feed into body mass.
References
- Effect of live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Actisaf Sc 47) supplementation on the performance and hindgut microbiota composition of weanling pigs. Scientific Reports (2018).
- Yeast hydrolysate attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses and intestinal barrier damage in weaned piglets. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology (2023).
- Effects of Yeast Culture on Laying Performance, Antioxidant Properties, Intestinal Morphology, and Intestinal Flora of Laying Hens. Antioxidants (2024).
- Dietary Mannan Oligosaccharides Modulate Gut Inflammatory Response and Improve Duodenal Villi Height in Post-Weaning Piglets Improving Feed Efficiency. Animals (2020).
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