REVIEW article
Front. Anim. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition
From Coastline to Feed Trough: Unlocking Palmaria palmata Feed Potential for Monogastric Farm Animals
Provisionally accepted
Farina Khattak1*
Hermine Mkrtchyan2
Duncan Smallman3Patricia Estridge3Michael J. Allen3Fiona Short4Martin Sutcliffe4Jos G.M Houdijk1- 1Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- 2Centre for Innovation in Genomics and Microbiome Sciences, School of Medicine and Biosciences, University of West London, UK, London, United Kingdom
- 3Seaweed Generation Ltd, April Cottage, King Charles Quay, Falmouth,, Cornwall, United Kingdom
- 4UK Agri-Tech Centre, Innovation Centre, York Science Park, Heslington,, York, United Kingdom
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Palmaria palmata (P. palmata), commonly known as Dulse, is a red seaweed with increasing relevance as a potential sustainable feed ingredient for monogastric animals. It provides balanced proteins, essential amino acids, minerals, and diverse bioactive compounds with potential antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects. Unlike conventional protein sources, it can be cultivated without competing for arable land or freshwater, aligning with the goals of a circular economy. However, challenges include compositional variability, seasonal and geographic influences, and risks of contaminants such as heavy metals, iodine, and microbial hazards. Feeding trials in non-ruminants demonstrate that inclusion is feasible without adverse effects and may improve gut health and product quality; however, the evidence remains limited in scope and duration. This review consolidates current knowledge on the nutritional composition, bioactive compounds, safety concerns, processing technologies, and feeding outcomes of P. palmata, highlighting evidence gaps for safe inclusion levels, optimised processing, hazard management, and sustainability evaluation.
Keywords: Palmaria palmata, Red seaweed, Dulse, processing, monogastric feed, circularfeed ingredient, Nutrient composition
Received: 01 Oct 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Khattak, Mkrtchyan, Smallman, Estridge, Allen, Short, Sutcliffe and Houdijk. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Farina Khattak, farina.khattak@sruc.ac.uk
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.