title: Chlorella vulgaris as a Livestock Supplement and Animal Feed: A Comprehensive Review
Creators: name: Gadzama, Ishaya Usman
name: Ray, Saraswati
name: Méité, René
name: Mugweru, Isaac Maina
name: Gondo, Takudzwa
name: Rahman, Md Atikur
name: Redoy, Md Rahat Ahmad
name: Rohani, Md Fazle
name: Kholif, Ahmed Eid
name: Salahuddin, Md
name: Brito, Andre F.
Publisher: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: microalgae
subject: Chlorella vulgaris
subject: rumen fermentation
subject: antioxidants
subject: immune response
subject: nutrient digestibility
subject: growth performance
subject: milk production
subject: egg quality
subject: meat quality
subject: sustainable agriculture
subject: 590 Tiere (Zoologie)

description: Chlorella vulgaris (CLV) is a green microalga with significant potential as a sustainable animal feed supplement due to its rich nutritional composition. The nutritional profile of CLV, which includes fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, can vary significantly depending on cultivation conditions such as nutrient availability, light intensity, temperature, water pH, and strain. Studies across various livestock species, such as ruminants, poultry, pigs, rabbits, and fish, suggest that CLV supplementation can lead to several benefits. These benefits include improved growth performance, enhanced nutrient digestibility, better product quality, and overall improvements in animal health and welfare. However, the effects of CLV supplementation are dose-dependent and can vary across different animal species. Therefore, determining optimal inclusion levels is crucial, and further species-specific research is necessary to fully understand the long-term implications of CLV in animal diets.
description: This review explores the potential of Chlorella vulgaris (CLV) as an alternative supplement in animal feed. CLV is rich in essential nutrients including fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, as well as bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, which contribute to its health-promoting properties. The nutritional composition of CLV can vary depending on factors such as cultivation methods, nutrient availability, light intensity, temperature, water pH, strain, and processing techniques. The rigid cell wall of the microalga limits nutrient accessibility, particularly in monogastric animals. However, processing techniques such as enzymatic treatments can disrupt the cell wall, enhancing nutrient bioavailability and improving its utility as a feed ingredient. Research across livestock species has demonstrated the positive effects of CLV supplementation. For instance, CLV has improved milk production and composition in ruminants, modulated rumen microbiota, enhanced lamb growth, and elevated blood immunoglobulin levels. Moreover, the impact of CLV on ruminal fermentation is dose-dependent, with higher inclusion rates exhibiting more pronounced effects, and it may also play a role in mitigating methane emissions. In poultry, CLV supplementation leads to better growth, feed conversion ratios, immune responses, and meat and egg quality. Similarly, studies on pigs suggest that CLV can benefit immune response and fatty acid profiles, while in rabbits, CLV has been found to reduce oxidative stress and improve immune responses. Additionally, CLV has shown promise in aquaculture, improving feed utilization, immunity, and disease resistance in various fish species. While CLV shows considerable potential, the variability in animal responses and the need for optimized inclusion levels necessitate further species-specific research to elucidate the long-term implications of its inclusion in animal diets.