Iodine Supplemented Diet Positively Affect Immune Response and Dairy Product Quality in Fresian Cow.

Iannaccone Iannaccone,Cerretani Cerretani,Martino Martino,Elgendy Elgendy,Dacasto Dacasto,Ianni Ianni,Giantin Giantin

doi:10.3390/ani9110866

Abstract

The effects of iodine supplementation on the whole-transcriptome of dairy cow using RNA sequencing has been investigated in this study. Iodine did not influence the milk composition, while an improvement was observed in the immune response as well as in the quality of dairy product. Indeed, the iodine intake specifically influenced the expression of 525 genes and the pathway analysis demonstrated that the most affected among them were related to immune response and oxidative stress. As a consequence, we indirectly showed a better response to bacterial infection because of the reduction of somatic cell counts; furthermore, an improvement of dairy product quality was observed since lipid oxidation reduced in fresh cheese. Such findings, together with the higher milk iodine content, clearly demonstrated that iodine supplementation in dairy cow could represent a beneficial practice to preserve animal health and to improve the nutraceutical properties of milk and its derived products.

Highlights

Micronutrients are essential to orchestrate all physiological functions
During the 3-week acclimatization period (21 days), both the control (CTR) and the experimental iodine groups (IG) received a basal diet that mainly consisted of alfalfa hay plus a custom-formulated concentrate supplemented with 20 mg/day/animal I in order to guarantee the daily micronutrient requirement for each animal; the IG animals were fed for 56 days with a custom-formulated concentrate supplemented with additional 65 mg/day/animal of I in order to obtain a total intake of about 85 mg; this amount has been set not to exceed the maximum level allowed by law [17]
As expected (Figure 2), we appreciate a higher amount of iodine in the I group, indicating that consumption of milk from dairy cows fed with high iodine intake is helpful to integrate diets where physiological stages like infancy and/or pregnancy require higher iodine intake [22]

Summary

Introduction

Micronutrients are essential to orchestrate all physiological functions. Among them, iodine (I)plays a unique role because it is the main component of the thyroid hormones, i.e., thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) [1]. Micronutrients are essential to orchestrate all physiological functions. Since the thyroid gland regulates many metabolic processes, the extent of I. I demand is not satisfied, reduced functionality of the thyroid gland could occur (hypothyroidism) with negative consequences for proper mental development, body growth, and fertility. For these reason, diet is often integrated with I supplements, generally provided through iodized salt [3]. Milk constitutes the only I source; the dietary calibration of this micronutrients in dairy animals assumes relevant importance in order to obtain I-rich milk without inducing variations in animal performances [4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion