(176m) Seafeed, Seaweed Bioactive Supplemented Animal Feeds

Abstract: This research initiative constitutes a comprehensive exploration into Phlorotannins (PTS), marine polyphenols derived from seaweeds, as a viable substitute for zinc in pig feed diets, particularly following its prohibition in the EU in 2022 to confront this challenge this project investigates PTS sourced from marine algae and native seaweed species. PTS are known for their immuno- and microbial-modulating properties in pig feed diets [1,2,3].

A significant limitation arises from the scarcity of naturally occurring PTS in seaweeds, so novel extraction methods were utilized to obtain increased yield of PTS. In a maceration extraction method, a high percentage of ethanol was employed to successfully extract PTS. Innovative extraction techniques, such as hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) were also found to significantly enhance the rate of extraction of valuable products like proteins and carbohydrates from macroalgae [4,5]. HC increased the extent of cell disruption and led to release of metabolites into the extraction medium. In this study, two seaweed species Ascophyllum Nodosum and Fucus Vesiculosus were utilized with various ethanol-water solutions.

The data indicated that the total phenolic content and total protein of extracts from the HC method for all the solutions were higher than the extracts from the maceration method. The total phenolic content and total protein of the extract of solution from Fucus Vesiculosus was found to be higher than the extracts from Ascophyllum Nodosum.

For HC, lower ratios of ethanol were employed for successful extraction. Future work will involve solvent removal from the extracts using spray drying to obtain high-concentration powdered PTS for animal trials.

References:

1. Antimicrobial and Anti-Quorum Sensing Activities of Phlorotannins From Seaweed (Hizikia fusiforme), Jiali Tang, Wenqian Wang, Weihua Chu, 2020.
2. Seaweed-Derived Phlorotannins: A Review of Multiple Biological Roles and Action Mechanisms, Fazlurrahman Khan, Geum-Jae Jeong, Mohd Sajjad Ahmad Khan , Nazi Tabassum and Young-Mog Kim, 2022.
3. The effect of seaweed extract as an alternative to zinc oxide diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and fecal score of weaned piglets, Patrick L McAlpine, Cormac’J O'Shea, Varley, Patrick Francis, Barbara B. Flynn, and Jo’n O'Doherty, 2012.
4. Intensifying extraction of biomolecules from macroalgae using vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation device, Rochak Mittal , Vivek V. Ranade, 2023.
5. Intensification of biogas production using pretreatment based on hydrodynamic cavitation, Pankaj N. Patil,Parag R. Gogate, Levente Csoka , Agota Dregelyi-Kiss, Miklos Horvath, 2016.