Antioxidant effects of seaweeds and their active compounds on animal health and production – a review

Figures & data

Figure 1. The general scheme of seaweed antioxidants and their effect on animal health and performance.

Table 1. The examples of the effect of seaweeds antioxidants on animals.

Seaweed	Tested antioxidant/dose/animal	Effect on animals (as compared to the control group)	Reference
Polysaccharides
Laminaria digitata (B)	extract containing laminarin − 0.5 g/kg feed and fucoidan − 0.42 g/kg feed, pigs	no effect on the plasma total antioxidant status, increase in antioxidant activity in animals – lowering levels of lipid oxidation in porcine muscle	Moroney et al. 2012
Laminaria digitata (B), Bioatlantis Ltd (Tralee, Ireland)	extract containing laminarin (112 g/kg) and fucoidan (89 g/kg), dose 2.8 g/kg, newly weaned pigs	improved performance, higher average daily gain, gain to feed ratio, increase in the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility of N, gross energy, reduction in the counts of E. coli in faeces	O’Doherty et al. 2010
Laminaria hyperborea (B) Laminaria digitata (B)	extract containing laminarin and fucoidan, 1.5 g/kg, weaned pigs	L. hyperborea extract – lower population of Bifidobacteria in the colon and Lactobacilli in the caecum and colon, increase in total monocyte number, L. digitata extract – lower population of Enterobacteria in the caecum and colon, Bifidobacteria in the caecum, Lactobacilli in the caecum and colon, for both extracts – reduced ammonia concentration in the colon	Reilly et al. 2008
Laminaria spp. (B), Bioatlantis Ltd (Tralee, Ireland)	extract containing laminarin (112 g/kg) and fucoidan (89 g/kg), dose 1, 2, 4 g/kg, weanling piglets	at low (60 g/kg) and medium (150 g/kg) levels of lactose in diet – increase in average daily gain with the increase in extract to 2 g/kg, at low level of lactose – significant improvement in food conversion ratio as the levels of seaweed extract increased to 4 g/kg, for medium level – improvement till 2 g/kg of extract	Gahan et al. 2009
Laminaria spp. (B)	extract containing laminarin and fucoidan, 300 mg/kg of laminarin, 240 mg/kg of fucoidan, mixture of 300 mg/kg of laminarin and 240 mg/kg of fucoidan, weanling piglet	laminarin – increase in daily gain and gain-to-feed ratio, increase in faecal dry matter, reduced diarrhea, reduced faecal E. coli, fucoidan – increase in Lactobacilli, no effect of fucoidan on faecal Lactobacilli when laminarin was added, a combination of laminarin and fucoidan reduced post-weaning diarrhea	McDonnell et al. 2010
Laminaria hyperborea (B)	extract containing laminarin and fucoidan, 0.7, 1.4, 2.8, 5.6 g/kg, pigs	increase in urine output, water intake with an increase in extract inclusion, effect on colonic Bifidobacterium spp. (higher than in control, decrease with a rise in extract dose) and on caecal Enterobacterium spp. (higher for 0.7 g/kg than in the control), decrease in caecal Bifidobacterium spp. and colonic Lactobacilli spp. as the level of seaweed extract increased	Lynch et al. 2010
Laminaria hyperborea (B)	extract containing laminarin and fucoidan, 300 mg/kg of laminarin, 240 mg/kg of fucoidan, mixture of 300 mg/kg of laminarin and 240 mg/kg of fucoidan, pigs	laminarin – reduced Enterobacterium spp. compared to the control diet, the combination of laminarin and fucoidan increased Enterobacterium spp. compared with alone polysaccharides, fucoidan – increased Lactobacilli spp. in the proximal colon and distal colon as compared with non-fucoidan diet	Lynch et al. 2010
Laminaria spp. (B), Bioatlantis Ltd (Tralee, Ireland)	seaweed extract containing laminarin (1.0 g), fucoidan (0.8 g), and ash (8.2 g), sows and post-weaned pigs, 2.8 g/kg diet	higher average daily gain (0–21 post-weaning day) in pigs weaned from extract-supplemented sows, increase in average daily gain during the grower–finisher phase, decreased colonic E. coli population in pigs feed with post-weaning diets with extract	Leonard et al. 2011a
Laminaria spp. (B), Bioatlantis Ltd (Tralee, Ireland)	seaweed extract containing laminarin (1.0 g), fucoidan (0.8 g), and ash (8.2 g), 10 g/d, suckling piglet	increase in immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) in sow colostrum, an increase in piglet serum IgG, reduction in fecal Enterobacteriaceae numbers in sows at parturition, decrease in colonic E. coli population at weaning in piglets suckling extract-supplemented sows	Leonard et al. 2012
Ascophyllum nodosum (B), Tasco-14 (Acadian, Nova Scotia, Canada)	2%, steers and heifers	antimicrobial properties, reduction in the prevalence of enterohemorrhagic E. coli on hide swabs and in fecal samples, possible inhibition of the growth of Salmonella spp.	Braden et al. 2004
Ascophyllum nodosum (B), Tasco (Acadian, Nova Scotia, Canada)	extract, 1.7 and 3.4 kg/ha of fescue, grazing lambs	Increase in antioxidant activity in grazing ruminant, for summer lambs grazing period – increase in lamb gain, serum vit. A and Se concentration with increase in Tasco dose, no effect on vit. E	Fike et al. 2001
Ascophyllum nodosum (B), Tasco-Forage (Acadian, Nova Scotia, Canada)	tall fescue pastures infected with endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) treated with Tasco-Forage (3.4 kg/ha), weaned beef steers	increase in rectal temperatures due to endophyte infection, decrease in temperature of steers grazing infected fescue treated with Tasco, alleviation of rough hair coats and loss of hair color, mitigation of the adverse effects of endophytes on immune function	Saker et al. 2001
Ascophyllum nodosum (B), Tasco^TM (Acadian Sealants Ltd, Nova Scotia, Canada)	wether lambs, heat stress	supplementation of Tasco to post-harvest fescue hay – enhancement of immune function (increased phagocytic activity, increase in red and white blood cell glutathione peroxidase), protection against prolonged heat-induced oxidative stress, enhancement of monocyte oxidative burst through short and long duration heat stress	Saker et al. 2004
Ascophyllum nodosum (B)	intact dried biomass – source of dietary fiber, 2.5, 5, 10 g/kg, weaned piglets	no significant effect on daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, performances of piglets, gut health parameters and plasma oxidative status (measurements of TBARS, FRAP, GSH-Px), increase in plasma α-tocopherol in all experimental groups, no changes in the microbial ecology in the foregut and in the caecum	Michiels et al. 2012
Ulva armoricana (G)	algal extract containing sulfated polysaccharide, 2, 8 and 16 g/day (two periods: before the last atrophic rhinitis vaccine booster and a week before farrowing), pig, sows – the end of gestation	16 g/day – an increase in specific IgG in sow’s blood and colostrum, 8 g/day – an increase in the level of total IgA in milk as compared to the control group	Bussy et al. 2019
brown seaweeds (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China)	alginic acid oligosaccharide, 100 mg/kg, weaned pigs	enhancement of the average daily body weight gain, increase in the concentrations of IL-10, IgG, and IgA, increase in SOD, CAT activity, and total antioxidant capacity in the serum, decrease in serum MDA, increase in the population of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, decrease in the populations of E. coli in the intestine	Wan et al. 2016
brown seaweeds (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China)	alginate oligosaccharide, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, weaned pigs	100 and 200 mg/kg – significant increase in the average daily body weight gain, 100 mg/kg – promotion of antioxidant defense properties (enhanced serum CAT activity and GSH content), improvement of serum hormone levels (insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1), increase in the nutrient digestibility (crude ash, protein, and fat), maltase and sucrase activities in the duodenal and jejunal mucosa	Wan et al. 2017
brown seaweeds (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China)	alginate oligosaccharide, 100 mg/kg, weaned pigs	enhanced the intestinal integrity, increase in intestinal occludin protein abundance, increase in the jejunal and ileal catalase activity, decrease in the duodenal and jejunal tumor necrosis factor-α concentration, inhibition in the pro-inflammatory cytokines production	Wan et al. 2018
Sargassum latifolium (B)	seaweed powder containing mainly carbohydrates (41.4%), ash (26.2%), amino acids, phenolic compounds (carotenes, flavonoids, kaempherol, alkaloids), 2 and 4%, bacterial endotoxin (bacterial lipopolysaccharides)-challenged sheep	increase in the thermo-respiratory response (skin and rectal temperatures, respiration rate), the obtained systemic inflammation (blood leukocytosis, the increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, in serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines, heat shock protein-70), improvement of the total antioxidant capacity of the blood (increase in the CAT and SOD activity), decrease in the blood markers of tissue damage (MDA concentration and the activity of alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase)	Ramadan et al. 2020
Sargassum latifolium (B)	seaweed powder containing mainly carbohydrates (41.4%), ash (26.2%), amino acids, phenolic compounds (carotenes, flavonoids, kaempherol, alkaloids), 2 and 4%, environmental heat stress-induced toxicity, sheep	increase in the thermo-respiratory responses (skin and rectal temperatures, respiration rate) and the resulted dyslipidemia, anemia, systemic inflammation (blood leukocytosis, the increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, in serum concentration of proinflammatory cytokines, heat shock protein-70), significant improvement of the body-weight gain, kidney functions (especially for 4%), blood antioxidant defense system (total antioxidant capacity, the activity of CAT and SOD), protection of animals from oxidative tissue damage and the risk of atherosclerosis	Ellamie et al. 2020
OceanFeed Swine® (mixture of green, brown and red seaweeds)(Milltown, Ireland)	carbohydrates (43%), also proteins (8%), vitamins and minerals, 5 g/kg, nursery and fattening pigs	improvement of average daily weight gain and feed efficiency, increase in the slaughter weight, a reduction of E. coli CFU, increase in Lactobacillus sp. in faeces samples	Ruiz et al. 2018
OceanFeed Swine® (mixture of green, brown and red seaweeds)(Milltown, Ireland)	carbohydrates (43%), proteins (8%), vitamins and minerals, 0.5% in gestation and 0.66% in lactation, 0.75% in nursery diet, sows and their offspring	no statistically significant impact on sow body weight during gestation and lactation, no differences in colostrum yield, composition of colostrum and milk, no effect on growth performance during nursery period, lower number of pathogenic bacteria (Fusobacteriaceae) for pigs from sows and higher of beneficial bacteria (Ruminoccocaceae and Lachnospiraceae)	Del Tuffo et al. 2019
Phenolic compounds
Ascophyllum nodosum (B), Fucus serratus (B)	phlorotannin extract (0.1, 0.781, 1.56, 3.125, 20, 50 mg/mL) and whole seaweeds (1, 3, 5, 10, 20%), in vitro (pig digestibility model)	phlorotannin extract – significant decrease in the digestibility of feed for both seaweeds, smaller decrease for whole seaweeds (no significant difference was observed for inclusion rates till 5%), difference in digestibility for the same species and inclusion rate, but collected from different seasons (effect of seasonality on chemical composition)	Ford et al. 2020a
Vitamins
Ascophyllum nodosum (B) (Kerry Enhancer, Kerry Algae, Curraheen, Tralee Co. Kerry, Ireland)	extract, vitamins E, K, A, B1, B2, B12, niacin and elements: Cu, Fe, Mn, I, Zn, Se, Ca, Mg, Na, K (3, 6 and 9 g/kg), grower–finisher pigs	increase in the dose of extract resulted in reduced daily gain, carcass weight, and kill-out yield, increase in adherent Lactobacilli in the colon but decrease in caecal Bifidobacteria, decrease in ileal coliform counts, no effect of treatment on feed intake, feed conversion ratio or carcass characteristics, intestinal pH	Gardiner et al. 2008
Microelements
Ulva rigida (G), Sargasum muticum (B), Saccorhiza polyschides (B)	I in the biomass, 100 g/animal per day, Holstein Friesian lactating cows	improvement of the mineral status of dairy cattle, especially I and Se, increase in the concentration of Co, Cr, Fe, I, Se, and Zn in milk	Rey-Crespo et al. 2014
Chaetomorpha linum (G)	Zn, Mn, Fe, Ca and Na in the biomass, 20%, lambs fattening during drought periods	feed conversion ratio was higher than for the control group, no effect on organic matter digestibility, faecal N, urinary N, and N retention, lower final body weight	Rjiba et al. 2010
Ulva spp. (G)	seaweed meal (ash 375 g/kg d.m., crude protein 176 g/kg d.m., crude fat 339 g/kg d.m., neutral detergent fibre 322 g/kg d.m., 171 g/kg d.m. acid detergent fibre), 20, 25, 30 and 35 g/kg, hens	increase in feed intake, overall body weight gain, no effect on feed conversion eff ciency, lack of improvement of apparent nutrient digestibility, no dietary effects on serum biochemical indices (glucose, urea, phosphorus, calcium, total protein, albumin, bilirubin, amylase, creatinine, globulin)	Nhlane et al. 2020
Ascophyllum nodosum (B)	iodine-rich intact seaweed, 10 and 20 g/kg, weaned piglets	beneficial effect on microbial population – reduction in E. coli load in the stomach and small intestine, enhancement of Lactobacilli/E. coli ratio in the small intestine, increase in iodine content in several tissues in piglets	Dierick et al. 2009
Ascophyllum nodosum (B) kelp meal (Thorvin Inc., New Castle, VA)	seaweed meal iodine rich (820 mg/kg d.m.), 57, 113, 170 g/d, early lactation dairy cows	no effect of seaweed on milk yield, concentration of milk components (fat, protein, lactose, milk urea N), serum concentrations of thyroxine and triiodothyronine, linear increase in concentration of milk I with increased dose of seaweed, reduction in the plasma concentration of non-esterified fatty acids	Antaya et al. 2015

Where: B – brown, G – green seaweed

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