The crucial need for safe and healthy aquatic animals obligates researchers in aquaculture to investigate alternative and beneficial additives. Medicinal herbals and their extracts are compromised with diverse effects on the performances of aquatic animals. These compounds can affect growth performance and stimulate the immune system when used in fish diet. In addition, the use of medicinal herbs and their extracts can reduce oxidative stress induced by several stressors during fish culture. Correspondingly, aquatic animals could gain increased resistance against infectious pathogens and environmental stressors. Nevertheless, the exact mode of action where these additives can affect aquatic animals’ performances is still not well documented. Understanding the mechanistic role of herbal supplements and their derivatives is a vital tool to develop further the strategies and application of these additives for feasible and sustainable aquaculture. Gene-related studies have clarified the detailed information on the herbal supplements’ mode of action when administered orally in aquafeed. Several review articles have presented the potential roles of medicinal herbs on the performances of aquatic animals. However, this review article discusses the outputs of studies conducted on aquatic animals fed dietary, medicinal herbs, focusing on the gene expression related to growth and immune performances. Furthermore, a particular focus is directed to the expected influence of herbal supplements on the reproduction of aquatic animals.

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Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins are a large group of ion channels that control many physiological functions in our body. These channels are considered potential therapeutic drug targets for various diseases such as neurological disorders, cancers, cardiovascular disease, and many more. The Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in the year 2021 was awarded to two scientists for the discovery of TRP and PIEZO ion channels. Improving our knowledge of technologies for their study is essential. In the present study, we reviewed the role of TRP channel types in the control of normal physiological functions as well as disease conditions. Also, we discussed the current and novel technologies that can be used to study these channels successfully. As such, Flux assays for detecting ionic flux through ion channels are among the core and widely used tools for screening drug compounds. Technologies based on these assays are available in fully automated high throughput set-ups and help detect changes in radiolabeled or non-radiolabeled ionic flux. Aurora’s Ion Channel Reader (ICR), which works based on label-free technology of flux assay, offers sensitive, accurate, and reproducible measurements to perform drug ranking matching with patch-clamp (gold standard) data. The non-radiolabeled trace-based flux assay coupled with the ICR detects changes in various ion types, including potassium, calcium, sodium, and chloride channels, by using appropriate tracer ions. This technology is now considered one of the very successful approaches for analyzing ion channel activity in modern drug discovery. It could be a successful approach for studying various ion channels and transporters, including the different members of the TRP family of ion channels.

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It is well established that hypothalamic GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) is one of the key peptides involved in the neuroendocrine control of testicular development and spermatogenesis. However, the role of GnRH as a paracrine regulator of testicular function has not been fully investigated. The present study demonstrates the presence of GnRH and its receptors in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) testis, and provides information on direct action of native GnRH isoforms (GnRH2 and GnRH3) on different stages of spermatogenesis in this model. Both GnRH2 and GnRH3 stimulated basal spermatogenesis by increasing numbers of type Aund spermatogonia, spermatozoa, and testosterone release, and in this study GnRH2 exerted higher relative activity than GnRH3. Next, we evaluated the effects of GnRH isoforms on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)- and follicle-stimulating hormone (Fsh)-induced spermatogenesis. The 2 GnRH isoforms were found to have different effects on Fsh- and hCG-induced response depending on the stage of spermatogenesis and concentration of the peptides. The results provide strong support for the hypothesis that locally produced GnRH2 and GnRH3 are important components of the complex multifactorial system that regulates testicular germinal cell development and function in adult zebrafish.