Nutritional and health benefits of essential oils in dairy cows
Résumé
Scientific data supporting the efficacy of Essential oils (EOs) in livestock as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant molecules accumulate over time; however, the cumulative evidence is not always sufficient. Still, so far, the MILKQUA project is the first to evaluate, by a combined OMICS approach, the possible use of selected EOs in the nutrition sector and forthe treatment of mastitis in dairy cows. Given the importance of the DOHaD concept (Developmental Origin of Health and Diseases), we emphasized EOs’ impact, when included in calves’ diet, on food efficiency and animal growth. We also tested EOs direct curative effects on inflamed mammary gland and isolated Blood Mononuclear Peripheral cells (PBMC). We also assessed the in vitro ruminal fermentation and change in the microbiome content in the presence of both natural and synthetic EOs compounds and decrypted, using several in vitro models, the EOs mechanism of action on the NfKB inflammatory pathway. We present in this communication the results of our interdisciplinary approach.