Jul 2026· European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety· Vol 18, pp. 199-214· 0 citations
TL;DR
Overall, this review highlights the considerable potential of seaweeds as sustainable functional ingredients in dog and cat nutrition and suggests strategic utilisation of India's abundant seaweed resources could support the development of innovative pet foods while contributing to environmental sustainability and the blue economy.
Abstract
The increasing demand for sustainable, functional, and health-promoting ingredients in pet nutrition has stimulated growing interest in marine macroalgae (seaweeds) as alternative feed resources for dogs and cats. India, with a coastline exceeding 7,500 km, harbours rich seaweed biodiversity and represents an abundant yet underutilised source of nutritionally valuable biomass. Seaweeds contain diverse bioactive compounds, including polysaccharides such as laminarin, fucoidan, alginate, and agar-derived oligosaccharides, as well as proteins, essential minerals, vitamins, polyphenols, carotenoids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. These components have been associated with improvements in gastrointestinal health, immune function, antioxidant capacity, and overall physiological well-being. Seaweed-derived polysaccharides exhibit prebiotic properties by promoting beneficial gut microbiota and enhancing the production of short-chain fatty acids, while antioxidant compounds help mitigate oxidative stress and maintain cellular homeostasis. In addition, various seaweed bioactives demonstrate immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities that may enhance disease resistance and support healthy ageing. Reported benefits also include improved nutrient utilisation, favourable modulation of blood biochemical parameters, enhanced skin and coat condition, better oral health, and increased feed palatability. However, certain seaweed species may accumulate excessive iodine, heavy metals, or other naturally occurring antinutritional factors, necessitating appropriate species selection, processing methods, quality control measures, and optimised dietary inclusion levels. Despite these promising attributes, evidence from companion animal studies remains limited, with much of the current knowledge derived from livestock and laboratory animal models. Overall, this review highlights the considerable potential of seaweeds as sustainable functional ingredients in dog and cat nutrition. Strategic utilisation of India's abundant seaweed resources could support the development of innovative pet foods while contributing to environmental sustainability and the blue economy. Further species-specific research is required to establish standardised products, optimal inclusion rates, long-term safety, and efficacy in companion animals.
The rapid growth of the global population has increased the demand for safe, healthy, and sustainable food, and fish supplies about 20% of the world's protein demand. Fishery products are rich in nutrient compositions such as moisture, protein, lipids, minerals, etc. Moisture and fatty acid components that favor microbial spoilage and lipid oxidation are susceptible to post‐harvest losses, leading to compromised food security and economic development. Preservation methods including chilling, freezing, and packaging improve shelf‐life but provide only temporary protection. Although synthetic preservatives are widely used to preserve fish, growing concerns about their potential toxicity have raised questions about their safety. Consequently, consumers are increasingly choosing natural and eco‐friendly preservation methods. Bioactive compounds derived from photosynthetic marine macroalgae (seaweed) are gaining attention on a global scale. Seaweed is considerably rich in phenols, phlorotannins, polysaccharides, pigments, and essential minerals, which exhibit impressive antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. These bioactive compounds can be used as fish ingredients and coatings of fish products, increasing shelf‐life, enhancing safety, and ultimately improving nutritional quality while reducing spoilage. This review summarizes the seaweed‐based preservatives as a sustainable approach to enhancing the quality, safety, and shelf‐life of fish and fishery products, thereby supporting global food systems. In conclusion, seaweeds provide sustainable natural antioxidants and antimicrobials that improve the shelf‐life, functionality, and nutritional quality of fishery products.
Ashika Banu Rodela, M. Rasul, Ilias Ebne Kabir et al.· Food Safety and Health· 0 citations
The rapid expansion of global aquaculture and increasing demand for sustainable protein sources have intensified the search for alternatives to conventional fish meal. Wolffia globosa, the smallest and fastest-growing flowering plant, has emerged as a promising yet underutilized aquatic resource with significant potential in aquaculture nutrition and sustainable food systems. Despite growing interest in aquatic plant-based proteins, comprehensive evaluation of W. globosa across nutrition, cultivation, and application systems remains limited. This review synthesizes current knowledge on its biology, nutritional composition, functional properties, and application potential in aquaculture and circular bioeconomy systems. W. globosa exhibits rapid vegetative propagation, high biomass productivity, and minimal resource requirements, enabling efficient cultivation in nutrient-rich environments. It contains high-quality protein (20–48% dry weight), essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and diverse bioactive compounds with antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Feeding studies demonstrate its potential to enhance growth performance, feed efficiency, and physiological health in aquatic species. Additionally, its capacity to absorb nitrogen and phosphorus supports nutrient recycling and water quality improvement in integrated aquaculture systems. However, variability in nutrient composition, limited large-scale cultivation data, insufficient long-term feeding trials, and uncertain economic feasibility at industrial scale remain key challenges for its commercial adoption. Overall, W. globosa represents a promising but still developing biomass resource with strong potential to reduce dependence on fish meal while supporting environmentally efficient aquaculture and future food systems. Future research should focus on optimizing cultivation practices, developing efficient processing technologies, and validating long-term feeding performance to facilitate its large-scale adoption.
S. Rajesh, Nitesh Kumar Yadav, J. Angom et al.· Aquaculture Journal· 0 citations
ABSTRACT Seaweeds are important marine resources that contain a great variety of beneficial compounds, including protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, fibers, and bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and carotenoids. Nutritional, functional, and industrial properties of these marine algae make them highly applicable to culinary, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and cosmetic sectors. Seaweeds are perishable as their quality gets highly influenced under certain conditions, such as high moisture content, enzymatic activity, and microbial presence. Parameters such as water activity, lipid indices, total volatile base nitrogen, microbial load, pathogen detection, pH, and sensory properties are used to determine the loss of quality and product stability over time, helping in the determination of the shelf life of seaweed during the post‐harvest storage period. To extend the shelf life, several preservation methods have been explored. Traditional methods include sun drying, oven drying, salting, and fermentation, which provide easier and lower‐cost conditions, but sometimes cause a compromise in quality. Modern techniques like high‐pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, modified atmosphere packaging, and irradiation appear as solutions with lower loss of quality, higher nutrient retention, microbial safety, and sensory attributes. This review critically evaluates post‐harvest deterioration mechanisms, quality assessment parameters, traditional and advanced preservation techniques, their impact on shelf life and product quality, and current consumer perceptions to promote sustainable utilization of seaweeds in response to rising global demand.
This review focuses on the major bioactive phytochemicals present in dragon fruit peel, namely phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, and betalains, along with the essential nutrient vitamin C, providing a comprehensive overview of these components, including their chemical characteristics and functional roles in fish nutrition when incorporated into diets.
Ng Chinglembi Devi, Cheryl Antony, E. Prabu et al.· Journal of Fisheries· 0 citations
Lauric acid (LA), a medium-chain fatty acid abundant in coconut oil and Hermetia illucens larvae, has been reported to promote growth performance and exhibit antimicrobial and immunostimulatory properties. This review examines current studies on its effects on growth performance, intestinal health, microbiota modulation, and immune responses in aquatic species. Studies in finfish and crustaceans were evaluated according to the LA source, distinguishing purified LA, LA derivatives such as monoglycerides, and LA rich ingredients, when considering LA rich ingredients. Overall, LA was associated with changes in growth performance, feed efficiency, survival, intestinal morphology, gut microbiota, and immune and antioxidant responses, although effects varied with source, dose, species, and experimental conditions. Reported effects include increased villus height and goblet cell density, modulation of gut microbiota, altered cytokine expression, increased antioxidant enzyme activity, and reduced lipid peroxidation. Overall, LA appears to be a promising functional component in aquafeeds for finfish and crustacean species. Nevertheless, inconsistent experimental designs, differences in LA sources, and species-specific responses make direct comparisons among studies difficult. Further studies that use standardized experimental protocols, including consistent LA sources, dietary inclusion levels, trial durations and evaluation criteria, are needed to define optimal inclusion levels in different aquatic species.
R. A. Opere, G. Pascon, G. Cardinaletti et al.· Fishes· 0 citations
Evidence indicates that APs enhance immune function, modulate gut microbiota, and mitigate environmental stress, especially when combined with probiotics, prebiotics, plant extracts, or vaccines, especially when combined with probiotics, prebiotics, plant extracts, or vaccines.
