The effects of organic <i>v</i>. conventional diets on immune variables in rats

Barańska, Anna; Rembiałkowska, Ewa; Hallmann, Ewelina; Lueck, L.; Cooper, JH; Leifert, Carlo

doi:10.1017/s002966510800637x

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…1,18 No systematic nutrition-related health effects have been established either; however, some studies have shown that immunological parameters and growth might be sensitive to effects from cultivation systems. 14,21,22,42 Cultivation Methods Effect on Nutritional Quality and Health Biomarkers. The rats used in the current study were all clinically healthy, with normal food intake and increase in body weight during the long-term feeding experiment without any remarkable deviations from a "normal physiological response".…”

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Agricultural Cultivation Methods Influence the Healthfulness of Crops for Foods?

Jensen

Jørgensen

Halekoh

et al. 2012

J. Agric. Food Chem.

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ABSTRACT:The aim of the current study was to investigate if there are any health effects of long-term consumption of organically grown crops using a rat model. Crops were retrieved over two years from a long-term field trial at three different locations in Denmark, using three different cultivation systems (OA, organic based on livestock manure; OB, organic based on green manure; and C, conventional with mineral fertilizers and pesticides) with two field replicates. The cultivation system had an impact on the nutritional quality, affecting γ-tocopherol, some amino acids, and fatty acid composition. Additionally, the nutritional quality was affected by harvest year and location. However, harvest year and location rather than cultivation system affected the measured health biomarkers. In conclusion, the differences in dietary treatments composed of ingredients from different cultivation systems did not lead to significant differences in the measured health biomarkers, except for a significant difference in plasma IgG levels.

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Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Agricultural Cultivation Methods Influence the Healthfulness of Crops for Foods?

Jensen

Jørgensen

Halekoh

et al. 2012

J. Agric. Food Chem.

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“…Recent animal studies have tried to apply the quantification of several of these health parameters in feeding trials with organic products. Studies by Lauridsen et al ,52 Baranska et al 53 and Huber et al 54 analysed the effects of either a single food component or whole food organic feeding on parameters in rats and chickens, analogously to the ones mentioned in this paper (blood morphology, organ function, immune response, physical activity) 11. Only limited use was made, however, of inducing a stress response to study the health effects.…”

Section: Health As a Functional And Measurable Concept; The Effect Ofmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The study of Huber et al 53 does indicate the feasibility of applying the concept of adaptation in animal studies to evaluate health effects of nutrition and of organic foods in particular. Determination of the parameters most valuable and most easily measured in animals could help in making a first step towards human organic feeding trials in which health status can be adequately assessed and analysed.…”

Section: Health As a Functional And Measurable Concept; The Effect Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of evaluating health effects of organic food; operationalisation of a dynamic concept of health

et al. 2012

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The health benefits of consuming organically produced foods compared with conventional foods are unclear. Important obstacles to drawing clear conclusions in this field of research are (1) the lack of a clear operational definition of health and (2) the inability to distinguish between different levels of health using valid biomarkers. In this paper, some shortcomings of the current definition of health are outlined and the relevance of integrating a more dynamic and functional component is emphasised, which is reflected by the ability to adapt. The state of health could then be determined by challenging an individual with some form of stressor and by subsequent quantification and evaluation of the coherence in recovery of various physiological processes and parameters. A set of relevant parameters includes the activity of the immune system and the activity of the autonomous nervous system. A good recovery towards homeostasis is suggested to reflect a qualitatively good state of health. Furthermore, it would enable objective evaluation of health-optimising strategies, including the consumption of organically produced foods that aim to strengthen health.

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“…Another multigenerational study on rats has been conducted from 2006 within the EU project Quality Low Input Food 45. In this study rats were given organic, conventional and two kinds of ‘low‐input’ diets (Table 4).…”

Section: Variables and Parameters Investigated In Health Research On mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study rats were given organic, conventional and two kinds of ‘low‐input’ diets (Table 4). 45 Splenocyte proliferation was used as a sensitive measure to detect potential impacts of diets on the immune system of rats. The proliferation of splenocytes from adult rats appeared to be suppressed when diets were based on crops grown with mineral fertilizer inputs.…”

Section: Variables and Parameters Investigated In Health Research On mentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding trials in organic food quality and health research

Velimirov¹,

Huber

Lauridsen

et al. 2009

J Sci Food Agric

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Feeding experiments comparing organically and conventionally produced food are performed to assess the overall impact on the animals' health as a model for the effects experienced by the human consumers. These experiments are based on systems research and characterized by their focus on production methods, whole food testing and procedures in accordance with the terms of organic farming. A short review of such experiments shows that the majority of these tests revealed effects of the organically produced feed on health parameters such as reproductive performance and immune responses. Systems research is not just about simple cause-effect chains, but rather about the pluralism of interactions in biological networks; therefore, the interpretation of the outcome of whole food experiments is difficult. Furthermore, the test diets of organic and conventional origin can be constituted in different ways, compensating for or maintaining existing differences in nutrient and energy contents. The science-based results suggest positive influences from organic feeds, but there is still a need for confirmation in animals and, finally, in humans. For this purpose animal feeding trials with feed from different production systems should be conducted, with the aims to define health indicators and to establish biomarkers as a basis for future dietary intervention studies in humans.

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The effects of organic v. conventional diets on immune variables in rats

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Can Agricultural Cultivation Methods Influence the Healthfulness of Crops for Foods?

Can Agricultural Cultivation Methods Influence the Healthfulness of Crops for Foods?

The challenge of evaluating health effects of organic food; operationalisation of a dynamic concept of health

Feeding trials in organic food quality and health research

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