Marine Macroalgae in Rabbit Nutrition: In Vitro Digestibility, Caecal Fermentability, and Microbial Inhibitory Activity of Seven Macroalgae Species from Galicia (NW Spain)

Sabela Al-Soufi, Nuria Nicodemus, María Dolores Carro, Marta López-Alonso, Marta Miranda (), Antonio Muíños, Eugenio Cegarra, Beatriz Vázquez-Belda, Herminia Domínguez, María Dolores Torres, Noelia Flórez-Fernández and Javier García
Additional contact information
Sabela Al-Soufi: Departamento de Patoloxía Animal, Facultade de Veterinaria, Campus Terra, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Nuria Nicodemus: Departamento de Producción Agraria, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
María Dolores Carro: Departamento de Producción Agraria, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Marta López-Alonso: Departamento de Patoloxía Animal, Facultade de Veterinaria, Campus Terra, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Marta Miranda: Departamento de Anatomía, Produción Animal e Ciencias Clínicas Veterinarias, Facultade de Veterinaria, Campus Terra, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Antonio Muíños: Porto Muíños S.L., 15185 Cerceda, Spain
Eugenio Cegarra: De Heus Nutrición Animal, 15004 A Coruña, Spain
Beatriz Vázquez-Belda: Laboratorio de Hixiene, Inspección e Control de Alimentos, Departamento de Química Analítica, Nutrición e Bromatoloxía, Campus Terra, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Herminia Domínguez: CINBIO, Departmento de Enxeñaría Química, Facultade de Ciencias, Campus Ouresnse, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
María Dolores Torres: CINBIO, Departmento de Enxeñaría Química, Facultade de Ciencias, Campus Ouresnse, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Noelia Flórez-Fernández: CINBIO, Departmento de Enxeñaría Química, Facultade de Ciencias, Campus Ouresnse, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Javier García: Departamento de Producción Agraria, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: The limitation on the prophylactic use of antibiotics in animal feed in Europe has critically challenged the rabbit meat industry, which urgently needs to find solutions. A feasible alternative could be using macroalgae in the diet to improve the gut health. This research studied seven species of marine macroalgae in four formats (dehydrated, enzymatically hydrolyzed, aqueous extract, and aqueous extract of hydrolyzed macroalgae) in order to select the most promising ones for their use in rabbit feed. Chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, in vitro caecal gas, total volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against common pathogens were studied. All S. latissima products showed high caecal fermentability and VFA production, especially in both types of extracts. The H . elongata aqueous extract was remarkable due to its high in vitro butyrate production, which can be of great interest for improving gut health. The MIC results did not indicate any clear inhibition of the pathogens tested. The macroalgae tested appear to have a potentially prebiotic effect, rather than a direct antimicrobial activity. However, these results must be confirmed in vivo , in order to observe the real benefits of feeding macroalgae during the rabbit weaning period.

Keywords: in vitro digestibility and gas production; marine macroalgae; microbial inhibitory activity; rabbit; nutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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