Abstract

The livestock industry is currently focused on improving production through sustainable nutrition practices. This has spurred scientists to investigate the potential of functional nutrients in providing health benefits beyond their nutritional value. The use of inorganic trace minerals (ITMs) has registered some successes but with some drawbacks arising from their low absorption rate, causing the excretion of copious amounts of trace minerals in manure, which pollutes the environment and becomes detrimental to soil physiology and crop health. Organic trace minerals (OTMs) are relatively more effective due to their stability and lower reactivity, although their functionality and pH depend on production processes. Here, we underscore the effects of OTM supplementation in animal diets to enhance the host’s antioxidant capacity and gut health and promote environmental sustainability, as presented in the graphical abstract. Through adequate dietary OTM supplementation, animals can develop powerful resistance against the negative effects of physiological stressors or diseases by reinforcing the host’s systemic antioxidant defenses and alleviating compromises on the gut’s structure and functions, the gut being the primary site of nutrient digestion and absorption. The high cost of OTMs and the inconsistent outcomes of some across different animal species present significant limitations. Therefore, further research is needed to determine species-specific OTM requirements to optimize health and performance without over-supplementation. Also, researchers should further investigate the impact of OTMs, alone or in combination with other functional nutrients on animals’ immunological responses during oxidative or pathological conditions.

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