Nutrigenomics: A New Approach to Feed Formulation

Nutrigenomics is the study of the effect of nutrition on gene expression which discusses how DNA is converted to mRNA and then converted mRNA to protein, and is the basis for understanding the biological activity of edible compounds. Nutritional manipulations and nutritional approaches are key tools to influence the performance and health of organisms. Today, it has been shown that better nutrition of animals selected for further production has a beneficial effect on their function. Despite the importance of this issue in production systems, there are no ways to clearly explain the molecular mechanisms of these changes. This review study aimed to investigate nutrigenomics as a molecular approach to the expression of genes involved in the health and growth of organisms. Searching was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, IranMedex, and Google Scholar databases on the studies conducted during 1990-2018 by using the keywords: “nutrigenomics”, “gene expression”, “nutrients”, “food formulation”. Initial stage yielded 120 articles. After excluding conferences papers, 58 remained for the final review. There are a limited number of nutrigenomics studies on the laboratory and farm animals, but it has been confirmed that there is an association between nutrition, genetics, fertility and growth. Therefore, the use of nutrients that can express gene expression in a way that improves the function and efficiency of organisms is essential in feed formulation as a new approach in nutrition.