AUTHOR=Ghiselli Federico , Rossi Barbara , Piva Andrea , Grilli Ester TITLE=Assessing Intestinal Health. In Vitro and Ex vivo Gut Barrier Models of Farm Animals: Benefits and Limitations JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.723387 DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.723387 ISSN=2297-1769 ABSTRACT=
Animal performance is determined by the functionality and health of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Complex mechanisms and interactions are involved in the regulation of GIT functionality and health. The understanding of these relationships could be crucial for developing strategies to improve animal production yields. The concept of “gut health" is not well defined, but this concept has begun to play a very important role in the field of animal science. However, a clear definition of GIT health and the means by which to measure it are lacking.