Prebiotic Effects of Seaweed Polysaccharides in Pigs

Abstract

To ensure environmental sustainability, according to the European Green Deal and to boost the One Health concept, it is essential to improve animals’ health and adopt sustainable and natural feed ingredients. Over the past decade, prebiotics have been used as an alternative approach in order to reduce the use of antimicrobials, by positively affecting the gut microbiota and decreasing the onset of several enteric diseases in pig. However, dietary supplementation with seaweed polysaccharides as prebiotics has gained attention in recent years. Seaweeds or marine macroalgae contain several polysaccharides: laminarin, fucoidan, and alginates are found in brown seaweeds, carrageenan in red seaweeds, and ulvan in green seaweeds. The present review focuses on studies evaluating dietary seaweed polysaccharide supplementation in pig used as prebiotics to positively modulate gut health and microbiota composition.

Quality Traits and Nutritional Value of Pork and Poultry Meat from Animals Fed with Seaweeds

“…Their carbohydrate content is the highest among taxonomic groups [ 2 ], having ulvan as the main cell wall polysaccharide. Their main reserve polysaccharide is starch [ 21 ]. Red seaweeds ( Rhodophyceae ) are red due to the presence of two biloprotein pigments: R-phycoerythrin and R-phycocyanin.…”

“…Their main reserve polysaccharide is floridian starch, similar to land-plant starch, without amylose. Red seaweeds are also an abundant source of carrageenan and agar [ 21 ].…”

“…In recent years, the chemical characterisation of seaweed extracts has found them to be immensely versatile. Laminarin, for example, a storage polysaccharide from brown seaweeds, has anti-tumoral activity [ 19 ], cosmetic applications in skin care [ 20 ], and prebiotic properties [ 21 ]. As their use in animal nutrition is becoming increasingly reported, it is important to evaluate the impact of dietary seaweeds, including their derived products, on meat quality traits.…”

Disposable Food Packaging and Serving Materials—Trends and Biodegradability

“…Ulvans are a polyanionic heteropolysaccharide constituted by β-(1–4)-xyloglucan, glucuronan, and cellulose in a linear arrangement, occurring in green algae Ulva ( U. conglobate and U. prolifera ) [ 138 ]. The ulvan content varies from 2.7% in U. flexuosa to 40% in U. armoricana [ 139 ].…”

Seaweed Components as Potential Modulators of the Gut Microbiota

“…Although pharmacokinetic studies are required for the development of prebiotics destined for human and animal use, such studies are not within the scope of this review. The pharmacokinetics of seaweed-derived prebiotics in terms of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination has previously been documented in animal studies after oral administration [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ] and topical application [ 49 ], and recently reviewed by Corino et al [ 50 ] and Shikov et al [ 51 ].…”