Applied Nutrition to Optimize Physiological Health, Immunity, and Performance in Heat-Stressed Animals

Global climate change is a growing challenge for animal production, as heat stress severely impairs animal welfare, physiological homeostasis, and farm profitability. Although thermal stress manifests differently depending on the digestive anatomy, such as causing intestinal barrier disruption in monogastrics and rumen dysbiosis with metabolic acidosis in ruminants, the systemic consequences are highly comparable across species. Prolonged heat exposure stimulates excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, activates neuroendocrine stress pathways, and induces chronic systemic inflammation. This immune dysregulation forces a metabolic shift that diverts essential nutrients and energy away from growth, milk yield, and egg production toward thermoregulation and inflammatory responses. Mitigating these physiological challenges requires dietary formulations that go beyond traditional nutrient guidelines. Strategic nutritional interventions are necessary to enhance immune function, maintain gastrointestinal integrity, and sustain livestock productivity in high-temperature environments.This Research Topic addresses the critical need to mitigate physiological impairment and performance losses caused by heat stress across commercial livestock species. Conventional nutritional frameworks are often inadequate when animals are exposed to severe environmental heat loads because they primarily focus on basal requirements rather than the altered metabolic demands and compromised nutrient absorption associated with thermal stress. The primary objective of this collection is to highlight research demonstrating how targeted nutrition can support host physiology, enhance immune function, and maintain metabolic balance in both monogastrics and ruminants. We seek contributions that translate mechanistic findings into practical dietary interventions for various production systems. By focusing on interactions within the gut-immune axis, this collection investigates how precision feeding, bioactive compounds, and functional ingredients can reduce oxidative stress, attenuate systemic inflammation, and improve energy utilization, with specific emphasis on dietary strategies that restore intestinal barrier integrity and prevent secondary metabolic disorders. The resulting evidence-based nutritional solutions will help improve animal resilience, support welfare, and ensure the sustainable production of high-quality animal-derived foods under changing environmental conditions.This Research Topic invites high-quality submissions investigating targeted nutritional interventions to enhance physiological health, immune competence, and productive performance in heat-stressed animals. We welcome studies covering major commercial species, ensuring a balanced representation of monogastrics (swine and poultry) and ruminants (dairy, beef, and small ruminants). We encourage contributions addressing the following specific themes:• Nutritional modulation of gastrointestinal health• Evaluation of functional feed additives (phytogenics, prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, organic acids, targeted amino acids, and others)• Dietary strategies to mitigate oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and secondary metabolic disruption• Enhancement of nutrient utilization efficiency• Precision nutrition under heat stress conditions• Reassessment of nutrient requirements during thermal stress• Nutritional programming and physiological adaptation• Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics• Metabolomics and systems biology approaches• Mineral and electrolyte supplementation• Water nutrition and hydration strategies• Feeding management and behavioral adaptations• Interactions between heat stress and disease resistance• Biomarkers of nutritional resilienceWe accept Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, and Perspective articles that provide clear mechanistic insights or practical applications for commercial livestock production. Topic editors: Tossaporn Incharoen, Takahiro Nii, Juan J. Loor Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85735/applied-nutrition-to-optimize-physiological-health-immunity-and-performance-in-heat-stressed-animals