Brown Seaweed

Ascophyllum nodosum

Other Names:

Norwegian Sea Kelp, Laminaria Digitata, Sea Vegetable, Sea-Weed, Sea Frond, Atlantic Seaweed

Benefits

Antiparasitic
Antibacterial
Anti-inflammatory
Immunity

Sea kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum) is a type of brown seaweed known to contain high amounts of phlorotannins and ascophyllan. Phlorotannins may be able to inhibit starch and lipid absorption and ascophyllan is thought to have immunostimulatory properties. Specific applications studied in poultry include:

Ethnoveterinary uses: In British Columbia, sea kelp is given as a supplement in chick starter rations to prevent disease.
Antibacterial: Sea kelp powder may be helpful in reducing the presence of Escherichia coli.

Poultry Specific Studies

Type	Plant Part	Dosage	Specific use	Results	Ref
Chickens	extract	1-2 mL in drinking water	antioxidant, heat stress	significantly increased (P < 0.05) the AFI, ABWG, and AWI of broiler chickens irrespective of heat stress.	F Akinyemi et al., 2022
Chickens		0.05% of feed	heat stress	reduced the effect of prolonged heat stress while not negatively affecting growth and feed conversion.	E Sobotik et al., 2018