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

Abstract

Microalgae are a renewable and sustainable source of bioactive compounds, such as essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidant compounds, that have been documented to have beneficial effects on nutrition and health. Among these natural products, the demand for natural antioxidants, as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants, has increased. The antioxidant activity of microalgae significantly varies between species and depends on growth conditions. In the last decade, microalgae have been explored in livestock animals as feed additives with the aim of improving both animals' health and performance as well as product quality and the environmental impact of livestock. These findings are highly dependent on the composition of microalgae strain and their amount in the diet. The use of carbohydrate-active enzymes can increase nutrient bioavailability as a consequence of recalcitrant microalgae cell wall degradation, making it a promising strategy for monogastric nutrition for improving livestock productivity. The use of microalgae as an alternative to conventional feedstuffs is becoming increasingly important due to food-feed competition, land degradation, water deprivation, and climate change. However, the cost-effective production and use of microalgae is a major challenge in the near future, and their cultivation technology should be improved by reducing production costs, thus increasing profitability.

Keywords: animal nutrition; antioxidants; livestock; microalgae; monogastric diet; sustainability.

Figure 1

(a) Main antioxidant compounds produced by microalgae; (b) the beneficial properties of microalgae in animal health.

Figure 2

(a) The structure of C-phycocyanin from Arthrospira platensis (formerly Spirulina platensis) at 2.2 Å resolution (PDB accession number 1GH0); (b) the structure of phycocyanobilin (PCB), a linear tetrapyrrole chromophore covalently attached to protein subunits of C-phycocyanin.