Prospects of dietary seaweeds and their bioactive compounds in sustainable poultry production systems: A symphony of good things?

Abstract

Modern poultry production systems face numerous economic, environmental, and social sustainability challenges that threaten their viability and acceptability as a major source of animal protein. As scientists and producers scramble to find cost-effective and socially acceptable solutions to these challenges, the dietary use of marine macroalgae (seaweeds) could be an ingenious option. Indeed, the incredible array of nutritive and bioactive compounds present in these macroscopic marine organisms can be exploited as part of sustainable poultry production systems of the future. Incorporating seaweeds in poultry diets could enhance feed utilization efficiency, growth performance, bird health, meat stability and quality, and consumer and environmental health. Theoretically, these benefits are mediated through the putative antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antithrombotic, neuroprotective, hypocholesterolemic, and hypoglycemic properties of seaweed bioactive compounds. Despite this huge potential, exploitation of seaweed for poultry production appears to be constrained by a variety of factors such as high fibre, phenolics, and ash content. In addition, conflicting findings are often reported when seaweeds or their extracts are used in poultry feeding trials. Therefore, the purpose of this review paper is to collate information on the production, phytochemical components, and nutritive value of different seaweed species. It provides an overview of in vivo effects of dietary seaweeds as measured by nutrient utilization efficiency, growth performance, and product quality and stability in poultry. The utility of dietary seaweeds in sustainable poultry production systems is explored, while gaps that require further research are highlighted. Finally, opportunities that exist for enhancing the utility of seaweeds as a vehicle for sustainable production of functional poultry products for better global food and nutrition security are presented.

Microalgae as a Sustainable Source of Antioxidants in Animal Nutrition, Health and Livestock Development

“…Microalgae are sustainable natural bioresources that do not compete with terrestrial plants for arable land, freshwater, pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides to grow, and yet they have high productivity [169]. Thus, substituting synthetic feed additives with microalgae could result in positive environmental outcomes in the livestock sector with higher-quality nutritional products [170][171][172][173][174].…”

Influence of Dietary Addition of Mineral Shungite and Fucus vesiculosus on Production Performance, Egg Quality, Nutrients Digestibility, and Immunity Status of Laying Hens

“…According to a review by Mlambo et al (2022) [50], bioactive compounds have been reported to modulate the immune system, improve nutrient utilization efficiency and growth rates, improve product quality and stability, and prevent disease outbreaks in poultry. At the same time, the rapid growth in demand for seaweed as an alternative to antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs of chemical synthesis is due to the use and search for natural bioactive products [51].…”

Dietary incorporation of brown seaweed spent oyster mushroom substrate alters growth performance, physiological responses and meat quality parameters in Boschveld roosters

“…Unlike conventional grains, nutraceutical sources such as brown seaweed ( Ecklonia maxima ) have no direct food value for humans and have been largely harvested to produce animal feed, fertilizers, plant bio-stimulants and alginate over the last few years 5 . Thus, their use in Boschveld chicken diets can be a strategy to deliver sustainable chicken production systems in South Africa 6 .…”

“…Brown seaweeds are rich sources of bioactive substances such as polyphenols, polysaccharides (alginate, agar, and carrageenan) and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which possess various biological functionalities with antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, prebiotic, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering effects 7 , 8 . These biomolecules have the potential to stimulate growth performance, promote immunological responses, and safeguard the chickens against debilitating pathogenic infections 6 , 9 .…”