Potential of Seaweeds as Antioxidants and Their Role in Animal Health and Nutrition

Rise in awareness among consumers has resulted in a shift of their choices towards “green” alternatives or plant-based options. Seaweeds are photoautotrophic organisms which are available in high abundance due to the fact of oceans covering almost two thirds of our planet. They are of great nutritional value, beside having beneficial ecological roles. Seaweed provides several applications in food, pharmacological, and cosmetics industry and is of utmost importance to animal nutrition. They are a storehouse of different nutrients like vitamins, polysaccharides, proteins, carbohydrate, minerals, and phenolic compounds which exhibit antioxidant properties, thereby maintaining redox balance in animals by scavenging excess free radicals which can prevent and treat infections. Thus, supplementing animal diet with seaweed can help to boost immunity. This can also improve the meat quality as the antioxidants from seaweed can help in retarding lipid oxidation which is an important factor to be considered in meat industries. Other positive roles include imparting probiotic, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, beside improving productivity in animals. The current chapter shows the benefits of antioxidants derived from seaweed on animal health including the mechanism of their actions. However, further research should be performed for understanding the different mechanisms of antioxidant actions on specific animals.