Can Seaweed Be a Sustainable, One Health Resource in Livestock and Poultry Diets?
- 1Department of Animal Science, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
Abstract
Seaweed is an abundant but underutilized resource in livestock and poultry feeds. The nutrient composition and digestibility are highly variable among and within seaweed species and geographic origin, and its ability to bioaccumulate several detrimental toxic substances in the marine environment can cause feed and food safety concerns. However, many seaweed species are rich sources of numerous bioactive compounds and phytochemicals that provide prebiotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties as purified extracts that enhance animal productivity, health, and quality of animal-derived food products. Bromoform, which is found in high concentrations in red seaweed species, can be used as an effective dietary mitigation strategy for reducing enteric methane emissions from ruminants and subsequently reduce the environmental impact of meat and milk production. However, there are multiple tradeoffs between positive and negative environmental impacts, animal health benefits and risk factors, and improvements in quality of meat, milk, and eggs versus potential food safety concerns that are associated with the production, bioprocessing, and use of seaweed and bioactive compounds in animal diets that must be considered. This comprehensive review is intended to provide a synthesis of disparate threads of vast amounts of scientific information across multiple disciplines to help us answer the question "Can seaweed be a sustainable, One Health resource in livestock and poultry diets?".
Related
- Mechanisms and Application of Bacteriophages in Regulating Intestinal Health of Livestock and Poultry.
- Nutritional solutions for appetite regulation in livestock and poultry: A review
- Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Umbu, Anacardiaceae): from an underutilized food resource to health-promoting and sustainable applications
- Post-slaughter poultry meat preservation for sustainable food systems: Mechanisms, microbial safety, shelf-life extension, and emerging preservation strategies
- Bakery waste as a sustainable feed resource for growing Awassi lambs: Effects on growth performance, nutrient utilization, carcass traits, meat quality, and health indicators.
BibTeX
@article{shurson2026seaweed,
title = {{Can Seaweed Be a Sustainable, One Health Resource in Livestock and Poultry Diets?}},
author = {Gerald C Shurson},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ani16193071},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883040},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Can Seaweed Be a Sustainable, One Health Resource in Livestock and Poultry Diets?
AU - Gerald C Shurson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16193071
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883040
AB - Seaweed is an abundant but underutilized resource in livestock and poultry feeds. The nutrient composition and digestibility are highly variable among and within seaweed species and geographic origin, and its ability to bioaccumulate several detrimental toxic substances in the marine environment can cause feed and food safety concerns. However, many seaweed species are rich sources of numerous bioactive compounds and phytochemicals that provide prebiotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties as purified extracts that enhance animal productivity, health, and quality of animal-derived food products. Bromoform, which is found in high concentrations in red seaweed species, can be used as an effective dietary mitigation strategy for reducing enteric methane emissions from ruminants and subsequently reduce the environmental impact of meat and milk production. However, there are multiple tradeoffs between positive and negative environmental impacts, animal health benefits and risk factors, and improvements in quality of meat, milk, and eggs versus potential food safety concerns that are associated with the production, bioprocessing, and use of seaweed and bioactive compounds in animal diets that must be considered. This comprehensive review is intended to provide a synthesis of disparate threads of vast amounts of scientific information across multiple disciplines to help us answer the question "Can seaweed be a sustainable, One Health resource in livestock and poultry diets?".
SN - 2076-2615
ER -