Effect of dietary addition of seaweed and licorice on the immune performance of pigs

Abstract

In pig production, dietary additive antibiotics are usually used for growth stimulation and disease prevention, although there is public concern about the increased incidence of resistant antibiotics and food safety. It is possible that such antibiotics might be replaced by naturally derived products such as seaweed and licorice. In this study, we evaluated the effect of dietary addition of seaweed and licorice on enhancing the immune function in swine. The animals of each group (eight animals per group) were sensitized at day 42 and 49, and the immunoglobulin production and the expression of cytokines were detected by the ELISA and real-time PCR. As the results, saliva IgA production of the seaweed-treated group increased around five times compared to that of control (day 56). Delayed hypersensitivity reaction and IgG production of the seaweed-treated group increased around 1.8-2.0 times. In addition, enhanced saliva IgA production was detected at day 50 (around two times) and day 51 (around five times) by the licorice treatment, and lower expression level of tumor necrosis factor-α messenger RNA at day 51 (around 1/25) was observed in the licorice treatment. We conclude that the replacement of antibiotics by naturally derived dietary additives might be feasible for immune system enhancement.

Seaweed as a protein source for mono-gastric livestock

“…However, the concentration of essential amino acids in seaweeds on a whole biomass basis is considerably lower than traditional sources and is not adequate as a protein component of compound diets for mono-gastric livestock. This does not detract from their positive health benefits to humans (Fleurence et al, 2012;Holdt & Kraan, 2011;Mabeau & Fleurence, 1993) and livestock (at low inclusion levels - Dierick, Ovyn, and De Smet (2009), Katayama et al (2011)), where a low calorific value and high mineral content can be desirable. If seaweed protein is to be used for commercial mono-gastric livestock production it needs to be concentrated by the removal of fibre and ash components, or selectively extracted so that the concentration of essential amino acids can be increased to comparable levels with other protein products.…”

“…There is little literature on incorporating seaweeds as a protein source into the diets of poultry and swine. In contrast, there are many studies examining the functional effects of seaweed and their extracts on immune function, gut health, and meat and egg quality (Katayama et al, 2011;Kulshreshtha et al, 2014;Michalak et al, 2011;Walsh, Sweeney, O'Shea, Doyle, & O 'Doherty, 2013). However, these studies use low inclusion levels (<5%) that contribute little protein to the diet or, its corollary, that the seaweeds do not displace traditional protein sources in the feed.…”

Effects of Dietary Fermented Seaweed and Seaweed Fusiforme on Growth Performance, Carcass Parameters and Immunoglobulin Concentration in Broiler Chicks

“…Functional polysaccharides such as fucans and alginic acid, derivatives produced by seaweeds, are known to exhibit biologically beneficial properties including anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antitumoral activities (Wijesinghe adn Jeon, 2012), and dietary supplementation with seaweed gives positive effects in broilers (Ventura et al, 1994). Although, however, numerous studies were reported that seaweeds have potential as effective additives, some of seaweed components could interfere with bioavailability of diet (Michel et al, 1996; MacArtain et al, 2007), and availability could be decreased in animals (Katayama et al, 2011). In this regard, research for SF by-products and increased availability by them has not been performed by fermentation.…”

Addition of Wakame seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) stalk to animal feed enhances immune response and improves intestinal microflora in pigs

“…It has been suggested that seaweeds may have an important role in modulating human chronic disease (Brown et al, 2014) or elevating disease resistance by improving immunity in pigs (Maghin, Ratti, & Carino, 2014). Based on this information, we conducted several experiments with seaweeds, especially A. nodosum, as a feed additive, and found that the addition of A. nodosum increased sheep red blood-specific IgG production in serum in pigs (Katayama et al, 2011;Suzuki et al, 2009). Moreover, Dierick, Ovyn, and Smet (2009) reported that A. nodosum addition to pig feed improved the gut health of the weaned piglets.…”