During the last years, the use of algae has been increased in different industries such as food, agricultural fertilizers, animal feed/additives, pharmaceuticals etc. There are around 25,000 to 50,000 algae species with different sizes, forms, pigments, and functional compounds.
“The global annual market represents 36 million metric tons, with a market size of approximately $6 billion USD for various commercial applications”.
One of the main features of using seaweeds is that they produce unique bioactive metabolites (carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, polyphenols, pigments, mycosporine-like amino acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids) that terrestrial plants cannot synthesize. The positive effects of these metabolites are associated with anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and prebiotic functions.
Therefore, the use of seaweeds in animal nutrition is increasing since algae contain diverse nutrients that can help improve diets and trigger health benefits for livestock.
“The global market for animal feed additives and nutritional supplements was valued at 54 billion USD in 2018 and is estimated to generate a net revenue of 64 billion USD by 2025”.
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Talking about poultry, green seaweeds (e.g., Sea Lettuce – Ulva spp.) are one of the
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