- Nutritional Physiology /
- Concept
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Head of the Unit Nutritional Physiology
Ass.-Prof. Dr.sc.agr. Barbara Metzler-Zebeli
T +43 1 25077-3104
E-Mail
Secretary
Irene Nefischer
T +43 1 25077-4551
E-Mail
Opening hours: Mondy till Friday from 08:00 to 16:00 o'clock
Mailing address
Unit Nutritional Physiology
Veterinärplatz 1
1210 Vienna
Austria
Concept of the Unit Nutritional Physiology
"You are what you eat"
This saying is not only relevant for humans but for animals as Nutrition influences our health in many ways. Therefore, the major goal of nutritional physiology os to investigate how nutrients influence body functions, physiological processes and production efficiency in animals.
Nutritional physiology is a branch of physiology that focuses on physical and biochemical prcoesses in cells, tissues and organs of the gastrointestinal tract considering its impact on the whole body. For modern veterinary medicine a better understanding of the function and malfunction of the intestinal system is increasingly important due to the rise of nutritional related disorders and connected systemic disorders in domestic and farm animals.
Particularly, the mucosal barrier, the intestinal tract being the largest organ of the immune system in the body and the various interactions between gut microbiota and the host animal are important components to sustain a healthy gut. Nutrition plays an essential role in gut health by providing nutrients as well as potential allergens. Therefore, a balanced nutrition can help influence the gut and its microbiome positively to strengthen its barrier function.
The application of state-of-the-art "omics"-technologies provides us with tools to understand the effects of nutrition and its interaction between gut microbiome and the host animal and to identify possible biomarkers for different physiological conditions related to nutrition.