RESULTS:In vitro investigations revealed a statistically significant depressive effect of seaweed on pig gut flora, especially on Escherichia coli. In vivo, seaweed (10 g kg-1) had a reducing effect on the E. coli load in the stomach (P = 0.07) and small intestine (P < 0.05), while the lactobacilli/E. coli ratio was enhanced (P < 0.05) in the small intestine, indicating a beneficial shift in the microbial population. Statistically significant increases (P < 0.001) in iodine content were noted for several tissues in piglets on seaweed (20 g kg-1, corresponding to 10 mg iodine kg-1 feed) compared with the control diet (1 mg iodine kg-1 feed).
CONCLUSION: Intact A. nodosum brown seaweed may be introduced in pig nutrition as a feed material with a double strategy: improvement of pig gut health and performances and iodine enrichment of porcine tissues. This feeding strategy may alleviate, but not solve, the actual iodine deficiency in Belgium.