Leveraging the anti-bacterial potential of seaweed bioactives: Insights from In Vitro perspectives for aquaculture and food safety

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in employing seaweeds as prospective sources of bioactive compounds for aquaculture and food safety due to their advantageous nutritional properties, environmental sustainability, and possible health advantages for animals. Seaweed, also referred to as marine algae, can be generally classified into three taxonomic groups: Rhodophyta (red seaweed), Chlorophyta (green seaweed), and Phaeophyta (brown seaweed). They are abundant in a variety of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, protein, and so forth. Naturally occurring bioactive components such as polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, pigments, lipidic extracts, lectins, and others are abundant and promising in seaweed. Not only these compounds but also the nanoparticles (ZnO, CuO, Ag etc.) synthesized by them have antimicrobial activities. The current study examines the potential of seaweed and their bioactive compounds against the bacteria particularly those responsible for diseases in aquatic organisms and foodborne disorders. Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that metabolites derived from seaweed have both bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects, as evidenced by a variety of in vitro antimicrobial assays. Additionally, the effective and applicable dosages of each algae as well as the duration of inhibition have been discussed. The current research emphasizes the potential of functional metabolites derived from seaweed as alternatives to commercial antibiotics and underscores the importance of continued research on individual compounds.