Influence of Yeast Products on Modulating Metabolism and Immunity in Cattle and Swine

Abstract

Nutritional supplementation has been used by livestock producers for many years in order to increase animal performance, improve animal health, and reduce negative effects associated with enteric and/or respiratory pathogens. Supplements such as yeast and yeast-based products have broad applications across many livestock production systems, including poultry, aquaculture, cattle, and swine and have been shown to benefit animal production at various stages. These benefits include improvement in milk production, weight gain and feed conversion, as well as immune function. Initial research into the mode of action for these effects has focused on stimulation of the immune system by the β-glucan fractions of yeast. However, emerging studies have revealed that some of the beneficial effects of yeast products may stem from altering metabolism, including the availability of glucose and fatty acids. These changes in metabolism, and potentially energy availability, may partially explain differences in immune function observed in yeast-supplemented livestock, as the energy demands of an activated immune system are extremely high. Thus, this paper explores the influence of yeast products on metabolism in cattle and swine, and how changes in metabolism and energy availability may contribute to improvements in immune function in supplemented animals.

Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Culture on Ruminal Fermentation, Blood Metabolism, and Performance of High-Yield Dairy Cows

“…Hence, it indicates that the SC supplementation did not alter the energy metabolism of the high-yield cows. These results were inconsistent with some other studies, who concluded that the live yeast supplementation favorably influenced the metabolic status and might have a liver-protecting effect on the high-yield cows [ 38 , 39 ]. The non-significant results in our study could probably be explained by the fact that the cows used in this experiment were at approximately 70 days into lactation.…”

Effects of dietary live yeast supplementation on growth performance and biomarkers of metabolism and inflammation in heat-stressed and nutrient-restricted pigs

“…Therefore, dietary interventions aimed at improving gut health and the inflammatory response during HS or nutrient restriction scenarios are of particular interest. Dietary yeast is thought to improve animal performance by maintaining a beneficial intestinal environment, preventing pathogenic bacteria from binding to enterocytes, improving intestinal permeability, and by modulating immune function (Vohra et al, 2016; Che et al., 2017 ; Shurson et al, 2018 , Burdick Sanchez et al, 2021 ). Therefore, we hypothesized that supplementing live yeast would ameliorate some of the adverse effects of HS and nutrient restriction on gut health, which would translate into improved growth performance metrics.…”

“…The use of dietary yeast has gained attention as it reportedly has positive effects on both ruminants and monogastrics ( Broadway et al, 2015 ; Shurson, 2018 ; Burdick Sanchez et al, 2021 ). Particularly, dietary live yeast has been shown to improve growth rate, feed efficiency, milk production, and reproductive performance in various species ( Di Giancamillo et al, 2007 ; de Ordanza et al, 2010 ; Nasiri et al, 2018 ).…”

Supplementation of Live Yeast, Mannan Oligosaccharide, and Organic Selenium during the Adaptation Phase of Newly Arrived Beef Cattle: Effects on Health Status, Immune Functionality, and Growth Performance

“…The primary reason of this reduction in growth performance is related to a decreased feed intake, due to an altered health status. Furthermore, in this situation, the energy demand can increase by about 10–30% to support the immune system activity, with some estimates even higher at 55% compared to the metabolizable energy needed usually, mainly in the form of glucose [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Indeed, the activation of the immune system required at least 0.5 kg of additional glucose in ruminants, with peaks of about 1 kg within a 12 h period [ 25 , 26 ].…”

“…Indeed, the activation of the immune system required at least 0.5 kg of additional glucose in ruminants, with peaks of about 1 kg within a 12 h period [ 25 , 26 ]. Consequently, part of the feed-derived energy is shifted toward the activation of the immune system instead of being used for growth [ 23 , 25 , 26 ].…”