Diet modulates strongyle infection and microbiota in the large intestine of horses.
Abstract: The use of anthelminthic drugs has several drawbacks, including the selection of resistant parasite strains. Alternative avenues to mitigate the negative effects of helminth infection involve dietary interventions that might affect resistance and/or tolerance by improving host immunity, modulating the microbiota, or exerting direct anthelmintic effects. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of diet on strongyle infection in horses, specifically through immune-mediated, microbiota-mediated, or direct anthelmintic effects. Horses that were naturally infected with strongyles were fed either a high-fiber or high-starch diet, supplemented with either polyphenol-rich pellets (dehydrated sainfoin) or control pellets (sunflower and hay). When horses were fed a high-starch diet, they excreted more strongyle eggs. Adding sainfoin in the high-starch diet reduced egg excretion. Additionally, sainfoin decreased larval motility whatever the diet. Moreover, the high-starch diet led to a lower fecal bacterial diversity, structural differences in fecal microbiota, lower fecal pH, lower blood acetate, and lower hematocrit compared to the high-fiber diet. Circulating levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines, lipopolysaccharides, procalcitonin, and white blood cells proportions did not differ between diets. Overall, this study highlights the role of dietary manipulations as an alternative strategy to mitigate the effect of helminth infection and suggests that, in addition to the direct effects, changes in the intestinal ecosystem are the possible underlying mechanism.
Copyright: © 2024 Laroche et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Publication Date: 2024-04-09 PubMed ID: 38593129PubMed Central: PMC11003623DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301920Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research shows that altering the diet of horses can influence the level of strongyle infections, as a high-starch diet increased strongyle eggs production while introducing sainfoin into the diet decreased the number of these eggs. Furthermore, diet changes influence gut microbiota, suggesting an alternate approach to mitigating helminth infection is possible.
Study Objective
- The main focus of this study was to understand the impact of diet on strongyle infection in horses and to discern if their resistance or tolerance to the infection could be influenced through immune-related, microbiota-related, or direct anthelmintic effects.
Methodology
- The research was conducted on horses that were naturally infected with strongyles.
- The horses were fed either a high-fiber or high-starch diet, supplemented with either polyphenol-rich pellets (made from dehydrated sainfoin) or control pellets (made from sunflower and hay).
Key Findings
- The study found that horses on a high-starch diet excreted more strongyle eggs than others.
- However, introducing sainfoin into the high-starch diet resulted in a decrease in egg excretion.
- The introduction of sainfoin also resulted in lessened larval motility irrespective of the diet type.
- Other findings demonstrate that the high-starch diet led to lower fecal bacterial diversity, fecal microbiota structural differences, lower fecal pH, lower blood acetate levels, and lower hematocrit compared to the high-fiber diet.
- The research found no difference in circulating levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines, lipopolysaccharides, procalcitonin, and white blood cells proportions between the different diets.
Conclusion
- Overall, the research suggests that changes in diet can mitigate the effects of helminth infection by changing the intestinal ecosystem in addition to direct effects.
- This study emphasizes the potential role of dietary manipulations as an alternative strategy to combat helminth infection.
Cite This Article
APA
Laroche N, Grimm P, Julliand S, Sorci G.
(2024).
Diet modulates strongyle infection and microbiota in the large intestine of horses.
PLoS One, 19(4), e0301920.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301920 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Lab To Field, 26 bd Docteur Petitjean, Dijon, France.
- Biogéosciences, CNRS UMR 6282, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, Dijon, France.
- Lab To Field, 26 bd Docteur Petitjean, Dijon, France.
- Lab To Field, 26 bd Docteur Petitjean, Dijon, France.
- Biogéosciences, CNRS UMR 6282, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, Dijon, France.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses
- Diet / veterinary
- Intestine, Large
- Microbiota
- Feces / microbiology
- Starch
- Anthelmintics / pharmacology
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
References
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