Seaweed (known as marine algae) has a tradition of being part of the animal feed in the coastal areas, from ancient times. Seaweeds, are mixed with animal feed, because when consumed alone can have negative impact on animals. Thus, seaweeds are very rich in useful metabolites (pigments, carotenoids, phlorotannins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, agar, alginate and carrageenan) and minerals (iodine, zinc, sodium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium), being considered as a natural source of additives that can substitute the antibiotic usage in various animals. In this review, we describe the nutritional values of seaweeds and the seaweed effects in the seaweed-based animal feed/supplements.
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Results of a trial feed test of Oceanfeed™ -shrimp, a seaweed-based commercial shrimp feed ingredient produced by Ocean Harvest Technology Ltd.- is discussed.
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The use of seaweeds has a long history, as does the cultivation of a select and relatively small group of species. This review presents several aspects of seaweed production, such as an update on the volumes of seaweeds produced globally by both extraction from natural beds and cultivation. We discuss uses, production trends and economic analysis. We also focus on what is viewed as the huge potential for growing industrial-scale volumes of seaweeds to provide sufficient, sustainable biomass to be processed into a multitude of products to benefit humankind. The biorefinery approach is proposed as a sustainable strategy to achieve this goal. There are many different technologies available to produce seaweed, but optimization and more efficient developments are still required. We conclude that there are some fundamental and very significant hurdles yet to overcome in order to achieve the potential contributions that seaweed cultivation may provide the world. There are critical aspects, such as improving the value of seaweed biomass, along with a proper consideration of the ecosystem services that seaweed farming can provide, e.g. a reduction in coastal nutrient loads. Additional considerations are environmental risks associated with climate change, pathogens, epibionts and grazers, as well as the preservation of the genetic diversity of cultivated seaweeds. Importantly, we provide an outline for future needs in the anticipation that phycologists around the world will rise to the challenge, such that the potential to be derived from seaweed biomass becomes a reality.
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People have been eating fresh and sun-dried seaweeds for health purposes in oriental countries for thousands of years. However, in recent years, many new compounds with medicinal values have been identified in different types of seaweeds. Interestingly, most of these pharmaceutical compounds and nutraceuticals come from traditionally edible seaweeds like nori, kombu, wakame and hiziki.
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Seaweeds are traditionally used in human and animal nutrition. Their protein contents dier according to the species and seasonal conditions. Little information is available on the nutritional value of algal proteins and, especially, on the compounds that decrease their digestibility. This paper is a short review of the biochemical and nutritional aspects associated with seaweed proteins. Some perspectives on the potential uses of algal proteins for the development of new foods or additives for human or animal consumption are also discussed.
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This manual is designed for farmers, buying agents, exporters and fisheries officers who play an important role in achieving the required quality of seaweed for export. The purpose of the manual is to educate farmers to understand the importance of good-quality seaweed, the role they play and the benefits they can achieve. The manual also provides guidance for buying agents, exporters and fisheries officers in the roles they perform to improve and maintain the required quality of seaweed.
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Seaweeds (a plant group of the sea) in botanical terms "Algae" form an important food item in many countries of the East as well as West. In China, marine algae bears the name sea-vegetable and it is not uncommon for coastal inhabitants of Japan, Malaya, China and Phillippines to be seen on the seashore during low tide collecting these sea-vegetables. Korea and Japan are the two ceuntries where algae are farmed but only in Japan extensive seaweed cultivation is done.
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Knowledge of life cycle progression and reproduction of seaweeds transcends pure academic interest. Successful and sustainable seaweed exploitation and domestication will indeed require excellent control of the factors controlling growth and reproduction. The relative dominance of the ploidy-phases and their respective morphologies, however, display tremendous diversity. Consequently, the ecological and endogenous factors controlling life cycles are likely to be equally varied. A vast number of research papers addressing theoretical, ecological and physiological aspects of reproduction have been published over the years. Here, we review the current knowledge on reproductive strategies, trade-offs of reproductive effort in natural populations, and the environmental and endogenous factors controlling reproduction. Given that the majority of ecophysiological studies predate the “-omics” era, we examine the extent to which this knowledge of reproduction has been, or can be, applied to further our knowledge of life cycle control in seaweeds.
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Seaweeds are macroscopic algae, which form an important component of the marine living resource. They are available largely in shallow coastal waters wherever there is a substratum on which they can grow and flourish. Based on their pigmentation, the seaweeds are broadly grouped into green, brown, red and blue-green algae. They are harvested by man for centuries, particularly in Japan and China, where they form a part of the staple diet. The uses of seaweeds as food, fodder and manure are well known in many countries. Marine algae contain more than 60 trace elements in a concentration much higher than in terrestrial plants. They also contain protein, iodine, bromine, vitamins and substances of stimulatory and antibiotic nature.
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Pathogenic microbes can devastate populations of marine plants and animals. Yet, many sessile organisms such as seaweeds and sponges suffer remarkably low levels of microbial infection, despite lacking cell-based immune systems. Antimicrobial defenses of marine organisms are largely uncharacterized, although from a small number of studies it appears that chemical defenses may improve host resistance. In this study, we asked whether the common seaweed Lobophora variegata is chemically defended against potentially deleterious microorganisms. Using bioassay- guided fractionation, we isolated and characterized a 22-membered cyclic lactone, lobophorolide (1), of presumed polyketide origin, with sub-M activity against pathogenic and saprophytic marine fungi. Deterrent concentrations of 1 were found in 46 of 51 samples collected from 10 locations in the Bahamas over a 4-year period. Lobophorolide (1) is structurally unprecedented, yet parts of the molecule are related to tolytoxin, the scytophycins, and the swinholides, macrolides previously isolated from terrestrial cya- nobacteria and from marine sponges and gastropods. Until now, compounds of this structural class have not been associated with marine macrophytes. Our findings suggest that seaweeds use targeted antimicrobial chemical defense strategies and that sec- ondary metabolites important in the ecological interactions be- tween marine macroorganisms and microorganisms could be a promising source of novel bioactive compounds.
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Marine Agronomy Group, CAFNRM, UH-Hilo
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