Polyphenols from Brown Seaweeds as a Potential Antimicrobial Agent in Animal Feeds.

Seaweeds offer a natural source of antimicrobials that may help curb antibiotic resistance in livestock. The antibacterial activity of phlorotannin extracts isolated from two brown seaweeds and was tested. The mechanism of action of phlorotannin extracts against O157, , and was elucidated by observing cell membrane permeability and intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The two extracts were effective at killing three foodborne pathogens without negatively affecting the pig intestinal cells. minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range for the different pathogens was between 1.56 and 0.78 mg/mL, whereas was 3.13 mg/mL for all pathogens tested. was found to be much more potent compared to . The difference in potency in the seaweeds may be a result of the phlorotannins' structural linkages. The antimicrobial properties of the seaweed extracts tested may provide alternative and complementary treatments to antibiotics and zinc oxide in animal feeds. The seasonal screening was performed on both species to assess the availability of phenolics throughout the year using two quantification methods, the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) assay and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The variation between the methods highlights the challenges involved in the quantification of complex phenolic structures. However, both methods show that the phenolics are subject to seasonal variation, which may prove problematic to the animal feed industry.