Some abstracts do not have video files because ASAS was denied recording rights.
448
The growing importance of defining gut "health" in animal nutrition and health
Optimal gastrointestinal health (effective immune status, normal and stable microbiota, absence of inflammatory state) and functionality (digestion and absorption of feed) are essential for sustainable animal production (growth, milk yield, meat and egg quality). However, while gut health is an increasingly important topic in animal nutrition, a clear scientific definition is still lacking although it has been used repeatedly in animal health. A clear definition of gut health and how it can be measured is required to monitor animal health and to evaluate the effects of any nutritional intervention on animal performance. While in human medicine gut health is often associated with the “absence of clinical diseases”, this definition cannot be applied to farm animals as it is well known that animal performance can be impaired without any clinical signs of disease. Perhaps a more comprehensive definition of gut health would be “a steady state where the microbiome and the intestinal tract exist in symbiotic equilibrium and where the welfare and performance of the animal is not constrained by intestinal dysfunction”. This definition combines the principal components of gut health, namely diet, effective structure and function of the gastrointestinal (GIT) barrier and normal and stable microbiota, with effective digestion and absorption of feed and effective immune status. All these components play a critical role in GIT physiology, animal health, welfare and performance. Clarity of understanding of gut health will require the characterization of the interactions between all of these components. The development of biomarkers of gut health is imperative to gain clarity of understanding of the patho-physiological events that influence the intestinal barrier, its functionality and the ecology of the GIT microbiota. While there is considerable knowledge in biomarkers that are indicative of the GIT ability to digest, absorb, transport and secrete major macro and micro-nutrients, a large gap in the literature exists in relation to biomarkers of GIT permeability, GIT barrier function, or biomarkers that are indicative of the functional presence of beneficial microbiota or their metabolites. Therefore, future research should focus on the establishment of a reference panel of biomarkers of gut health to be used in farm animals and address the issue of standardization of techniques and methodologies to study gut health.
Keywords: Biomarkers, gut health, microbiome