Oxidative Stress in Ruminants

Abstract

This chapter examines the role that oxidative stress plays in ruminant medicine. We examine how redox homeostasis in involved in some physiological functions and we discuss the implications of the impairment of oxidative status on ruminant health and production. The study of oxidative stress is a relatively young field of research in ruminant medicine. The understanding of the role of oxidants and antioxidants in physiological and pathological conditions is rapidly increasing. Oxidative stress is an active field of research in ruminant medicine and has been implicated in numerous disease processes including sepsis, mastitis, acidosis, ketosis, enteritis, pneumonia, respiratory, and joint diseases. Compared to human medicine, only a limited number of conditions have been investigated in regard to the effects of oxidative stress in ruminants. Studies in cattle have been sporadic and mainly concerned with mastitis, pneumonia, and retained placenta. More recently, studies have been focused on metabolic diseases that affect dairy cows during the peripartum period. Numerous and rapidly evolving methodologies for evaluating oxidative stress are available to researchers and clinicians, each with their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Differences in models and methodologies make it difficult to make meaningful comparisons, even for studies that seem quite similar superficially. With this in mind, it is the goal of this chapter to summarise the present knowledge of oxidative stress in ruminant medicine and to examine the basis of and evidence for the role of oxidative stress in ruminant health and production, highlighting the need for continued research on oxidative stress in ruminant medicine. Clarity of understanding of the pathophysiology of oxidative stress in ruminants will allow the design of specific antioxidant therapies. Future research should focus on the establishment of a reference panel of biomarker of oxidative stress to be used in ruminant medicine. The development of an oxidative stress index as an approach in ruminant and veterinary medicine is also discussed.