Seaweeds for livestock diets: A review

Marine macroalgae are considered as promising sustainable alternatives to conventional terrestrial animal feed resources. The advantages include high growth rate, potential cultivation in saltwater, and no occupation of arable land. Macroalgae are broadly classified as brown (Phaeophyta), red (Rhodophyta) and green (Chlorophyta) algae, and are a diverse group of marine organisms. The nutritional value of macroalgae is highly variable. The protein and essential amino acid content can be low, especially in brown species, and indigestible polysaccharides adversely affect the energy value. Optimal use of macroalgae in feeds requires suitable processing, and biorefinery approaches may increase protein content and improve nutrient availability. Macroalgae are rich in unique bioactive components and there is a growing interest in the potentially beneficial health effects of compounds such as laminarin and fucoidan in different macroalgal and macroalgal products. This review summarizes current literature on different aspects of the use of macroalgae as sources of protein and health-promoting bioactive compounds in feed for monogastric animal species. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

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Marine macroalgae as sources of protein and bioactive compounds in feed for monogastric animals.

https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/files/26987521/1_s2.0_S0960852418310290_main.pdf

Using microalgae in the circular economy to valorise anaerobic digestate: challenges and opportunities

Seaweed (known as marine algae) has a tradition of being part of the animal feed in the coastal areas, from ancient times. Seaweeds, are mixed with animal feed, because when consumed alone can have negative impact on animals. Thus, seaweeds are very rich in useful metabolites (pigments, carotenoids, phlorotannins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, agar, alginate and carrageenan) and minerals (iodine, zinc, sodium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium), being considered as a natural source of additives that can substitute the antibiotic usage in various animals. In this review, we describe the nutritional values of seaweeds and the seaweed effects in the seaweed-based animal feed/supplements.

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Seaweed Potential in the Animal Feed: A Review

This article reviews the current state-of-theart for algae use in aquaculture, plus recent developments in algal biomass as a micro- or bulk ingredient in formulated animal feeds (terrestrial livestock and aquaculture species). Microalgae provide an important direct or indirect feed source for early developmental stages of many farmed finfish, shellfish and invertebrate species. Hatcheries typically cultivate microalgae in-house, with commercial concentrates now also being used widely. Different strains of micro- and macroalgae vary in their efficacy within formulated animal feeds, although there is sufficient evidence of good nutritional properties to promote algal biomass as a source of micronutrients or as a bulk feedstuff. High costs of algal biomass compared to commodity feedstuffs currently confine their commercial use to niche animal feed applications; greater availability/lower price, via biofuels and biorefinery would en able more widespread use in future.

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Algae for Aquaculture and Animal Feeds

Summary The aim was to assess the effects of intact dried Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed on piglet performances, gut bacteria and function and plasma oxidative status. A total of 160 weaned piglets (21 days, 6.59 ± 0.91 kg) were allocated to four dietary treatments with eight pen replicates of five animals each for 28 days: a control diet; based on cereals, soybean meal and milk products, and three basal diets supplemented with either 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 g dried seaweed per kg. At day 12/13 one piglet from each pen was sacrificed. Plasma samples were taken to determine parameters of oxidative status. Digesta were sampled for microbiological plate countings onto selective media and molecular analysis using PCRDGGE. Small intestinal tissue was taken for morphological and electrophysiological determinations. Data were analysed by a linear model with treatment as fixed effect. A. nodosum supplementation had no effect on daily weight gain, nor did it alter feed conversion ratio. Plate countings failed to reveal differences among treatments. Dendograms prepared using PCR-DGGE banding patterns did not indicate clustering of microbial profiles based on diet supplement. Plasma oxidative status and outcome of morphology and of electro-physiological measurements from gut tissues were similar for all treatments. Thus, the addition of A. nodosum seaweed to well digestible diets did not enhance performances of piglets nor some gut health parameters and plasma oxidative status.

Intact brown seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) in diets of weaned piglets: effects on performance, gut bacteria and morphology and plasma oxidative status.

E. Skrivanova

Papers

Intact brown seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) in diets of weaned piglets: effects on performance, gut bacteria and morphology and plasma oxidative status.