A Green Source as an Innovative Food and Feed Additive: Microalgae (YeYeM)

Yapılış Tarihi | 28 August 2024, Wednesday

PROJECT NAME

PROJECT COORDİNATOR:

Assoc. Prof. Füsun AKGÜL

PROJECT TOPIC:

In this project, mass production of the microalgae Spirulina platensis and Haematococcus pluvialis will be carried out in raceway ponds, and the obtained microalgal biomass will be used as a feed additive for quail, broiler chickens, and laying hens. The effects on the growth, egg and meat quality, immune system, and microbiota diversity of quail, broilers, and laying hens will be investigated.

The project's topic can be summarized as the investigation of the effects of Spirulina platensis on poultry nutrition and the development of an alternative feed additive based on the following research questions:

What valuable metabolites/chemical compositions and quantities in microalgae make them potential food/feed additives?
How does the microalgal feed additive affect the growth, egg and meat quality, immune system, and microbiota diversity of quail and chickens?

High-value molecules encompass a wide range of compounds, including lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates for food and nutraceutical applications, and pigments and sterols for cosmetic and pharmaceutical purposes. The vast diversity and complexity of microalgae stem from their evolution over billions of years as one of the Earth's oldest life forms, allowing them to produce a wide array of molecules. Microalgae have high nutritional value, being rich in essential amino acids, proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), bioactive carbohydrates like polysaccharides, and omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which are vital for human and animal health. They also contain antioxidants like carotenoids, chlorophyll, and phycobiliproteins. The bioactive substances derived from microalgae exhibit antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, regenerative, antihypertensive, neuroprotective, and immune-stimulatory effects. These compounds have applications in pharmacology, medicine, cosmetics, chemistry, aquaculture, the energy industry, agriculture, feed additives, and functional food production.

Due to the increasing human population and the growing demand for food, innovative and sustainable resources for animal feed are being explored, with a focus on alternative protein sources within the bio-based economy. In this context, there is a global effort to evaluate the opportunities for using algae. Many projects supported by the European Union have been conducted and are still ongoing in this area (https://op.europa.eu/en/home). The valuable chemicals produced by microalgae, such as fatty acids, colorants, and vitamins, have the potential to compete with those obtained from other sources, making the use of microalgae in the food and feed markets increasingly important. Therefore, this project aims to investigate the potential of microalgae isolated from Turkey’s inland waters to be used as food and feed additives.
Reasons for Using Microalgae in Animal Nutrition:

On a dry matter basis, microalgae contain higher levels of crude protein, carbohydrates, and fats than traditional sources (e.g., soybeans). Most algae can be added to existing feed without negatively affecting animal growth and performance, at rates of 14-33% for pigs, 12% for laying hens, and 17% for broilers.

Many microalgae have high fat content and are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), along with high levels of vitamins.

Various species of microalgae have demonstrated antibacterial properties. As a result, these algae could contribute to reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock, which in turn could help reduce bacterial resistance to antibiotics in both humans and farm animals. Some studies have also shown that microalgae possess antiviral properties. Algae contain various types of antioxidants, such as chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments, which have anti-inflammatory properties and may help prevent degenerative diseases.

Microalgae can enhance immune responses, which may help prevent severe disease phenotypes during infections. This can help maintain daily growth rates, feed efficiency, reproductive capacity, and external traits such as healthy skin and a shiny coat. Such effects have been demonstrated in poultry, sows and piglets, sheep and lambs, and dairy cows.

In laying hens, broilers, or dairy cows, the inclusion of certain algae species in their diet has been shown to increase the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in eggs, meat, and milk, respectively. Calves fed algae-supplemented diets exhibited lower cholesterol levels. The carotenoid pigments in microalgae have also affected the pigmentation of egg yolks and changed the color of broiled chickens.

The use of algae in animal feed contributes to sustainable agriculture because:

The agricultural land required for algae production is significantly lower compared to the land needed to produce the same amount of protein through traditional methods. The production of animal feed using conventional methods involves the use of large amounts of pesticides, which leads to severe water pollution. Additionally, the use of irrigation in agriculture contributes to drought and salinization, causing irreversible degradation of our soils. By meeting protein demands through algae, all these issues can be avoided, thus contributing to sustainable agriculture.

Algae can metabolize nitrogen and phosphate compounds from fertilizers and wastewater, converting them into valuable products. When wastewater is used in algae cultivation, it prevents eutrophication and other water pollution factors while producing valuable algal biomass.

Algae absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Local production of algae as a protein source can limit the import of feed products like soy and corn, which reduces the energy and money spent on transportation and decreases dependence on external sources.

Extracting EPA and DHA from algae instead of fatty fish helps prevent the extinction of endangered fish species.

For all these reasons, this project should be carried out, enabling our country to conduct research in these areas and contribute to building a sustainable and inclusive global economy.

Purpose of Project

The purpose of this project is based on the following reasons:

Microalgae can synthesize bio-products with economic value.
Despite the many application areas of microalgae, when considering economic feasibility studies and the global market, microalgal biotechnology research has largely focused on food and feed additives, as well as the production of valuable compounds.
Microalgae serve as an effective feed additive in animal nutrition, and when used this way, they contribute to sustainable agriculture.
Our country does not have a significant position in the field of microalgal biotechnology.

Microalgae are highly diverse microorganisms with various biotechnological applications that significantly contribute to the bioeconomy. For this reason, many studies have been conducted using microalgae as material. A detailed review of the literature shows that fast-growing microalgae are often used in studies, and in fact, due to economic concerns, efforts have been made to accelerate the reproduction of these microalgae and obtain more biomass. Based on this idea, in this project, two strains from the microalgae culture collection at MAKU Algal Biotechnology Laboratory (MAKU-MACC) were selected as the materials: Spirulina platensis MAKU-MACC-86, which was found in preliminary studies to have a high growth rate (low doubling time), and Haematococcus pluvialis MAKU-MACC-30, which demonstrated color changes through pigmentation shifts under different culture conditions.

With this framework, the project is driven by the research question, "What is the potential of the valuable metabolites/chemical composition within microalgae as food/feed additives, and how does this feed additive affect the growth, egg and meat quality, immune system, and microbiota diversity of quails and chickens?"

The objectives of this project include:

Cultivating microalgae initially in flasks under aseptic conditions to achieve volume increase, followed by culture in raceway ponds to obtain sufficient biomass.
Determining the culture growth parameters throughout the cultivation process and identifying the biochemical composition, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of the biomass obtained.
Assessing the effects of the produced feed additives on the growth performance of quails and chickens.
Evaluating the carcass yield and meat quality of the raised animals.
Analyzing the cholesterol and fatty acid composition of liver, meat, and eggs obtained from the animals, as well as assessing egg quality (external and internal).
Preparing cDNAs from samples taken from the intestinal tissue of animals raised with feed additives and conducting gene expression analysis via qPCR.
Performing microbiota analysis on the contents of the ceca of these animals.

In line with the aims and objectives of this project:

The data generated from this project, which has significant impact potential, may contribute to the production of domestic and national commercial products and will serve as a resource for future larger-scale studies in this field.
By producing and commercializing high-value, innovative bio-products that have a serious global market, the project will support our country's establishment of a sustainable and inclusive global economy. It will also help maintain competitiveness in exports to the EU and third countries.
Our project data will be utilized in subsequent studies focusing on livestock feeding, meat and milk productivity, and the reduction of calf mortality, thereby achieving integrated development through diversification in agriculture and animal husbandry.
The use of microalgae isolated from our country's inland waters will contribute to the literature in this field and increase the number of publications affiliated with Turkey in high-impact journals.
Research conducted under the title "Green and Sustainable Agriculture," aligned with the European Union's new growth strategy known as the "Green Deal," will be undertaken.
Collaborating with TÜBİTAK and TAGEM, the project will focus on priority R&D and innovation areas specified in the call for “Aquaculture Breeding and Cultivation,” particularly (i) research on alternative feed raw material sources, (ii) the development of microalgal biotechnology for innovative food additives, (iii) the use of algae in feed raw material production, and (iv) the research and enrichment of valuable chemicals from aquatic plant sources.

Regional Contribution of the Project:

Despite the numerous benefits of using algae as animal feed, several barriers still exist:

Quality Improvement: There is a lack of sufficient studies aimed at improving the oxidative properties and valuable components of algae through cultivation, harvesting, post-harvest drying techniques, stress conditions, and/or specific lighting programs. One of the goals of this project is to provide data to overcome this barrier.

Safety Assessment: For the safe use of algae produced here in animal feed, appropriate risk assessments must be conducted to utilize fertilizers, digestion materials, wastewater, or other sources in microalgae cultivation.

Productivity Enhancement: To increase the utilization of microalgae, it is necessary to improve algal yield and biomass productivity and conduct practical research under different culture conditions. In real outdoor conditions, the replication time can exceed two days, biomass productivity can drop to 40 t/ha, and photosynthetic efficiency can decrease to as low as 3% (Fernandez et al., 2021).

Cost Competitiveness: Currently, the cost of microalgae as an energy and protein source remains high compared to other compound feed ingredients. Therefore, more research is needed to demonstrate the health-enhancing properties of algae and their positive effects on meat, milk, and egg quality, as these attributes significantly increase the economic value of microalgae.

Economic Feasibility:

To elaborate on the economic feasibility of this work, comparing production volume values with commonly used ingredients such as soybean meal and fish meal clearly illustrates the potential. The total production of soybean oil and meal is 200 million tons/year, with current prices below €0.5/kg. Fish oil and meal production exceeds a capacity of 7 million tons/year, with current prices below €2/kg. In contrast, current microalgae production (oil and meal) is approximately 25,000 tons (wet)/year, with market prices estimated at €20–50/kg. It is projected that if production approaches 10,000 tons of dry biomass per year, the cost could fall below €5/kg, and further industrialization could reduce it to under €1/kg. Despite these challenges, the economic feasibility of incorporating microalgae biomass into animal diets has already been demonstrated. The feed mixture product market significantly impacts the animal feed industry, as feed mixtures have highly positive effects on healthy nutrition, metabolic efficiency, effective growth, and the maintenance of animal health. Considering the losses of animal products due to health issues encountered during production, the increased production capacity from the use of microalgae-based feed additives will undoubtedly compensate for these losses.

With this project, data and, when necessary, materials will be provided for the expected studies to overcome the aforementioned challenges that hinder microalgae cultivation. Inspired by the current literature showing the state of microalgal biotechnology, this project will produce feed additives from microalgae and investigate their effects on poultry development and product quality. While the price of powdered Spirulina sp. microalgae in the domestic market ranges from $50 to $200/kg, we estimate our production cost through this project to be $25 to $30/kg. If production is carried out in outdoor pools under greenhouse conditions, electricity costs will decrease, and if wastewater is utilized, nutrient costs will also be reduced. In this way, production costs can potentially be brought down to $10–15/kg.

In this respect, the project will facilitate the development of an alternative feed additive. This product will improve the immune system, growth, and development rates of animals and enhance the nutritional qualities of their meat and eggs.

Societal Contribution of the Project:

Economic/Commercial/Social Outputs: A commercial product. This project has the potential to produce food and feed additives from metabolites with high nutritional and antioxidant properties.

Outputs for Researcher Development and New Project Formation: One master's or doctoral student will work as a scholarship holder within the project, contributing to their academic development. Various organizations (conferences, meetings, seminars, fairs, workshops, etc.) will be organized to disseminate the results to relevant institutions and organizations.

Anticipated Effects from the Project:

Societal/Cultural Impact: The project aligns with the competitive production and efficiency goals within priority development areas, contributing to agricultural policy. The data from the project suggest the potential for producing effective food/feed additives based on microalgae. This would contribute to:

Quality of Life:

By using natural food additives derived from microalgae instead of synthetic supplements, individuals can avoid the negative effects of synthetic products and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
Animals raised with microalgae-based feed additives produce higher-quality meat, milk, and eggs compared to those fed with synthetic additives. Consequently, people consuming such high-quality food will experience an improved quality of life.
This project will promote the effective use of agricultural land and water resources, combat drought and salinity, yield high-quality agricultural products, and reduce the use of pesticides and antibiotics.

Economic Impact: This project holds potential applications across various sectors, including animal feed, feed additive production, and aquaculture farms such as fish and Artemia production facilities.

Global Market Projections: As noted in the unique value section, there is significant market potential for these applications, and it is evident that our country is currently absent from this market. Therefore, supplying products to the global market and establishing a presence is vital for reducing our dependency in this area.

National Security Impact: Food Security: An alternative source to synthetic food supplements will be established. Food products derived from animals fed with high nutritional value ingredients will be consumed, ensuring that citizens are aware of what they are eating and its quality.