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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #428679
Research Project: Ecological Factors that Enable Colonization, Retention, and Dispersal of Foodborne Pathogens and Intervention Strategies to Control the Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance in Cattle and Swine

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: NutriClayZn potentiates both zinc oxide and antioxidant supplements, inhibiting multidrug-resistant Salmonella and anaerobic Clostridium

Author
item JACKSON, STEVEN - Texas A&M University
item Andrews, Kathleen
item Droleskey, Robert
item BANZ, WILLIAM - Southern Illinois University
item APGAR, GARY - Southern Illinois University
item Anderson, Robin
item PHILLIPS, TIMOTHY - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Journal of Food Safety
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/9/2026
Publication Date: 1/20/2026
Citation: Jackson, S.J., Andrews, K., Droleskey, R.E., Banz, W.J., Apgar, G.A., Anderson, R.C., Phillips, T.D. 2026. NutriClayZn potentiates both zinc oxide and antioxidant supplements, inhibiting multidrug-resistant Salmonella and anaerobic Clostridium. Journal of Food Safety. 46(1). Article e70052. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70052.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.70052

Interpretive Summary: Salmonella and Clostridium are foodborne pathogens that infect livestock, as well as cause gastroenteritis in humans consuming contaminated pork and poultry products. The chemical zinc oxide (ZnO), at doses far in excess of nutritional zinc requirements, has been routinely added to livestock feed as a treatment to prevent animal infections; however, any zinc that is not absorbed will get excreted in the animals' feces and thus may accumulate in the environment. The environmental accumulation of zinc poses a risk of causing the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria that inhabit the surrounding environment. In this study, a potential feed additive prepared by binding free zinc to a stong clay binding agent was tested for its potential to inhibit the survival of foodborne Salmonella and Clostridium that were resistant to multple antibiotics. We found that the clay-bound zinc retained its anti-Salmonella and anti-Clostridium activity yet was markedly more stable in the environment. These findings suggest that clay bound zinc product could serve as a powerful alternative to free chemical ZnO for control of pathogenic as well as antimicrobial resistant bacteria that threaten the safety meat and milk produced for the American consumer.

Technical Abstract: Salmonella and Clostridium represent foodborne pathogens that infect livestock, as well as cause gastroenteritis in humans consuming tainted pork and poultry products. Free chemical zinc oxide (ZnO), at doses far in excess of nutritional zinc requirements, has been routinely added to livestock feed in order to prevent infections; however, unabsorbed zinc (excreted in feces) may accumulate in the environment and/or promote antimicrobial resistant (AMR) strains of bacteria. Here, NutriClayZn is described as an analogue of montmorillonite clay (MMT) that potently inhibits AMR strains of both Salmonella enterica and Clostridium perfrigens. Zinc amended to the interlayer of MMT was found to be the active constituent of NutriClayZn, and release of zinc from NutriClayZn was quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. NutriClayZn efficacy against growth of Salmonella enterica was significantly (p<0.05) greater than equimolar doses of free chemical ZnO positive controls. Moreover, the magnitude of NutriClayZn efficacy was significantly (p<0.05) enhanced by subtherapeutic doses of antioxidants, while NutriClayZn administered alone prevented growth of Clostridium perfringens. These findings suggest that NutriClayZn could serve as a powerful alternative to free chemical ZnO for control of enterotoxigenic AMR bacteria that threaten the safety of key dietary protein sources for humans.