Hormones, antibiotics, vitamins and several other chemicals have been tested in aquaculture operations for various remedies. Even though they give positive effects, they cannot be recommended due to their residual and other side effects. The alternative herbal bio-medicinal products in the aquacultural operations, that have the characteristics of growth promoting ability and tonic to improve the immune system, act as appetite stimulators. They increase consumption, induce maturation, and have antimicrobial capability and also antistress characteristics that will be of immense use in the culture of shrimps and other fin fishes without any environmental and hazardous problems. Herbal compounds such as phenolics, polyphenols, alkaloids, quinones, terpenoids, lectines and polypeptides have been shown to be very effective alternatives to antibiotics and other synthetic compounds. The present paper is presented after a careful review of more than 50 herbal plants for their biological effects such as growth promotion, immunostimulation, antistress, antibacterial, antifungal, antivirals, appetite stimulators and aphrodisiac.

No abstract

No abstract

The effects of supplementing diets with acetone extract (1% w/w) from four medicinal plants (Bermuda grass Cynodon dactylon, H(1), beal Aegle marmelos, H(2), winter cherry Withania somnifera, H(3) and ginger Zingiber officinale, H(4)) on growth, the non-specific immune response and ability to resist pathogen infection in tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus were assessed. In addition, the antimicrobial properties of the extract were assessed against Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrioparahaemolyticus, Vibrio mimicus, Vibrio campbelli, Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio harveyi and Photobacterium damselae. Oreochromis mossambicus were fed 5% of their body mass per day for 45 days, and those fed the experimental diets showed a greater increase in mass (111-139%) over the 45 days compared to those that received the control diet (98%). The specific growth rate of O. mossambicus fed the four diets was also significantly greater (1.66-1.93%) than control (1.52%) diet-fed fish. The blood plasma chemistry analysis revealed that protein, albumin, globulin, cholesterol, glucose and triglyceride levels of experimental fish were significantly higher than that of control fish. Packed cell volume of the blood samples of experimental diet-fed fish was also significantly higher (34.16-37.95%) than control fish (33.0%). Leucocrit value, phagocytic index and lysozyme activity were enhanced in fish fed the plant extract-supplemented diets. The acetone extract of the plants inhibited growth of Vibrio spp. and P. damselae with extracts from W. somnifera showing maximum growth inhibition. A challenge test with V. vulnificus showed 100% mortality in O. mossambicus fed the control diet by day 15, whereas the fish fed the experimental diets registered only 63-80% mortality at the end of challenge experiment (30 days). The cumulative mortality index for the control group was 12,000, which was equated to 1.0% mortality, and accordingly, the lowest mortality of 0.35% was registered in H(4)-diet-fed group.