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Inhaling agricultural mud could pose vital dangers to intestine well being for employees in animal agriculture, a College of California, Riverside, research has discovered.
Led by Declan McCole, a professor of biomedical sciences within the UCR College of Drugs, the research expands on prior findings that hog farm mud causes airway irritation. The researchers now report within the Journal of Utilized Toxicology that inhaling this mud additionally alters the intestine microbiome and impairs intestinal perform, together with elevated “leaky gut” or intestinal permeability. Leaky intestine is related to a variety of continual illnesses, together with inflammatory bowel illness, celiac illness, and kind 1 diabetes.
“Exposure to swine farm dust, which contains high levels of bacteria and endotoxins, caused both airway inflammation and increased passage of gut bacterial products into the bloodstream in our mouse models,” stated Meli’sa Crawford, a former postdoctoral researcher in McCole’s lab and the paper’s first writer. “But what’s especially striking is the impact we observed on the gut microbiome and metabolism.”
The researchers uncovered mice intranasally to hog mud extract for 3 weeks. The mice confirmed a major drop in useful bacterial species, together with Akkermansia muciniphila, Clostridium sp. ASF356, and Lachnospiraceae bacterium.
The analysis group additionally discovered decreased ranges of essential compounds within the intestine of the mice, akin to riboflavin, nicotinic acid, inosine, and leucine—key gamers in power metabolism, immune regulation, and intestine barrier upkeep.
“While most research has focused on the respiratory effects of farm dust, our findings clearly show that inhaled pollutants can have systemic consequences,” McCole stated. “This research underscores the importance of considering the gut–lung axis when assessing the health risks of bioaerosol exposure in agriculture.”
The research builds on rising proof that air pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations can impression a number of organ methods.
“Agricultural dust is rich in fine particulate matter and resistant bacteria, presenting a complex threat to farmworkers’ health,” McCole stated. “Our earlier work showed that inhaled hog dust extract leads to neutrophilic lung inflammation. We now show the link to intestinal barrier dysfunction and microbial imbalance, highlighting the need for improved workplace protections for agricultural workers to mitigate long-term health consequences.”
The research was supported by grants from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being; College of California, Davis-Western Middle for Agricultural Well being and Security; and College of California Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Crawford is now an assistant professor within the Division of Animal Sciences at Rutgers College in New Jersey.
The title of the analysis paper is “Respiratory Exposure to Agriculture Dust Extract Alters Gut Commensal Species and Key Metabolites in Mice.”
Extra info:
Meli’sa S. Crawford et al, Respiratory Publicity to Agriculture Mud Extract Alters Intestine Commensal Species and Key Metabolites in Mice, Journal of Utilized Toxicology (2025). DOI: 10.1002/jat.4808
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Inhaled farm mud alters intestine micro organism and weakens intestinal barrier in mice (2025, July 19)
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