Effects of Methionine on the Immune Function in Animals

As an animal essential amino acid in the daily diet, methionine possesses high nutritional value and important physiological functions, such as growth promotion, detoxification, antitumor and anticancer, resistance for coccidium infection, involved in methyl transfer and synthesis of protein  and so on. What’s more, methionine is closely related to the immune function of livestock and poultry, which is not only has effects on the growth and development of immune organs, but also on the specific and nonspecific immune function of organism. In addition, methionine plays a key role in protein synthesis and catabolism of the immune system. On the other hand, the excessive methionine can also cause negative effects on animals, it is suggested that the methionine is the most toxic member of the amino acid family. this review aims to clarify the effects of methionine on immune function in the aspects of growth and development immune organs, the histological structure of the immune organs, non-specific immunity, humoral immunity, cellular immunity and cytokines, and to provide foundations for further studies on the relationship between methionine and immune function.

Article by Tao Ruan,et al,from China

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