How Nutrigenomics Impacts Equine Health – A Case Study of Vitamin E.
Abstract: Nutrigenomics defines the interaction between the nutrients in our food and the genes in our body. Examples from human medicine of diseases and associated genes include lactose intolerance (genetic variants in LCT lactase), hypercholesteremia (low density lipoprotein receptor, LDLR) and caffeine sensitivity (adenosine A2A receptor, ADORA2A). In horses, examples include Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP), where clinical signs of disease are managed through maintaining a diet low in potassium and Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy Type 1 (PSSM1), where low starch and high fat diets are recommended to prevent episodes of rhabdomyolysis. Personalized nutrition tailors nutrition advice for an individual based on their genetic makeup. In humans and in horses, there is a wide range of individual response to vitamin E supplementation. Some horses obtain very high serum vitamin E concentrations with minimal intake, whereas others require high doses of supplementation to remain in the normal range. In humans, the efficiency of vitamin E absorption is widely variable and is affected by dietary factors, such as food matrix, and genetic polymorphisms in genes related to vitamin E intake, distribution and metabolism. In horses, the efficiency of vitamin E absorption is also related to diet; however, genetic variation has not been yet evaluated. With over 200 genetic variants identified in and surrounding vitamin E candidate genes in horses, future genetic profiling of vitamin E response in horses should be performed.
Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date: 2025-03-21 PubMed ID: 40122270DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105421Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This study explores the relationship between a horse’s diet, specifically vitamin E intake, and its genetic responses. It sheds light on the concept of nutrigenomics, which is the study of how dietary nutrients affect one’s genetics, and it explores the idea of personalized nutrition, where diet advice is tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup.
Nutrigenomics and Its Importance
- The paper focuses on the field of nutrigenomics, an area of study that examines the interaction between nutrients and genes in humans and animals particularly. The primary objective is to understand how various diseases are influenced by one’s diet, and genetic composition.
- Examples from human medicine include lactose intolerance, hypercholesteremia, and caffeine sensitivity, which are all influenced by individual genetic variants.
- Similarly, in horses, diseases such as Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP) and Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy Type 1 (PSSM1) are managed through a careful and tailored diet based on the horse’s genetic makeup.
The Relationship Between Vitamin E and Equine Health
- One key aspect of this research is the close study of the relationship between vitamin E intake and response in horses. Vitamin E intake has raised considerable interest due to the wide range of responses it elicits in different horses.
- Some horses record very high serum vitamin E concentrations even with minimal intake while others need a high dosage of supplementation to maintain a normal range. This shows there is a variety in the efficiency of vitamin E absorption, and such variety is believed to be influenced by an individual’s genes.
The Impact of Genetic Variation
- Whilst diet plays a significant role in the absorption of vitamin E in horses, this study suggests that genetic variations are also involved, despite the fact that these variations have not been extensively investigated in previous studies.
- The research encourages future investigations in this domain as it has identified over 200 genetic variants in and surrounding vitamin E candidate genes in horses. This could pave the way towards a more comprehensive genetic profiling of vitamin E response in horses.
Implications for Personalized Nutrition
- This study provides valuable insights into personalized nutrition, a practice that tailors nutritional advice based on an individual’s genetic makeup. This could be a useful preventive or management tool for equine diseases linked to nutrition.
- Understanding the interaction between vitamin E and specific genetic variants in horses could greatly improve how individual horses are fed for optimal health and performance.
Cite This Article
APA
Finno CJ.
(2025).
How Nutrigenomics Impacts Equine Health – A Case Study of Vitamin E.
J Equine Vet Sci, 105421.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105421 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis CA 95616 USA. Electronic address: cjfinno@ucdavis.edu.
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of competing interest None of the authors has any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.
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