Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #380283
Research Project: Nutritional Intervention and Management Strategies to Reduce Stress and Improve Health and Well-being in Cattle and Swine

Location: Livestock Issues Research

Title: Pre- and probiotic effects on innate immunity and metabolism in cattle and swine

Author
item Sanchez, Nicole
item Broadway, Paul
item Carroll, Jeffery - Jeff Carroll

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/21/2021
Publication Date: 2/1/2021
Citation: Sanchez, N.C., Broadway, P.R., Carroll, J.A. 2022. Pre- and probiotic effects on innate immunity and metabolism in cattle and swine. In: Kogut, M.H. and Zhang, G., editors. Gut Microbiota, Immunity and Health in Production Animals. New York, NY: Springer Cham. p. 277-297. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90303-9_14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90303-9_14

Interpretive Summary: There are many products that can improve animal health. Probiotics and prebiotics are often used to help healthy bacteria within the gut. These products work in many different ways, such as increasing feed intake and improving the immune system within the gut. More recently, data suggests feeding these supplements may change metabolism, including the energy available for an animal to use when sick. This book chapter reviews information on pro- and prebiotics, including how these supplements work within the body. Also, it discusses how pro- and prebiotics may be changing the immune response to sickness and metabolism in cattle and and pigs. This information will be important for researchers in the area of animal health, as well as cattle and swine producers.

Technical Abstract: Various nutritional and non-nutrient products can be used to improve animal health and alter the host microbiota. Probiotics and prebiotics can be used to aid in the development of a healthy microbiota through seeding of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with beneficial bacteria, as well as providing nutrients directly to these beneficial bacteria to maintain a healthy symbiotic relationship with the host. While conferring benefits to the host through reductions in pathogenic bacteria, and improvements in dry matter intake and intestinal integrity, other benefits outside of the gut have recently been elucidated. These include benefits to the immune system and, more recently, changes in metabolism in livestock supplemented with pre- and/or probiotic products. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the immune system is associated with the GI tract; yet, changes in the immune system by pre- and probiotics have been observed systemically. Additionally, metabolic changes associated with supplementation of pre- and probiotics suggests that there may be an alteration or shift in energy utilization when cattle and swine are fed these supplements. This chapter will explore the role of pre- and probiotics in livestock production, focusing on the mode of action as well as the influence on the innate immune response and changes in metabolism in cattle and swine.