Le stress oxydant chez les animaux de rente : principes généraux

In farm animals, as in humans, oxidative stress is caused by many stressful situations of physiological, environmental or nutritional origin. Many biological molecules (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids) can be “oxidized” by radical species generated during oxidative stress. The body has an arsenal of endogenous or nutritional antioxidant molecules. The total antioxidant capacity of the animal as a whole or of its products can be evaluated by the simultaneous use of several complementary methods. Oxidative stress affects the quality of products but also animal health. Thus, it has been shown that poor breeding conditions such as reduced floor areas or housing on totally slatted floor decreased animal resistance to oxidative stress. Similarly, there are strong correlations between different metabolic diseases or pathologies of infectious or inflammatory type, and antioxidant deficiency.