A review on Immunostimulatory and antioxidant potential of herbs, Curcuma longa L., Camellia sinensis L. Zingiber officinale and Allium sativum Linn. in fish health: a sustainable approach for a healthy aquaculture

Abstract

The usage of antibiotics and chemotherapeutics agents in aquaculture and their undesired consequencesleads to the search for other alternatives. Plants are rich in active compounds includes alkaloids, flavonoids,terpenoids, phenols and polypeptides which proved to maintain a good health status in fish by acting asgrowth promoters, stress resistance and preventions of infections. Phytomedicine provides a cheaper sourcefor the treatment and greater accuracy than chemotherapeutic agents without causing toxicity. There arediverse medicinal plants in India which are being used extensively in aquaculture for several purposes.Present review focuses only on the immunostimulatory and antioxidant property of some common herbs;turmeric, green tea, ginger and garlic owing to their effectiveness and availability. The studied herbs possesspotent immunostimulant and antioxidant compounds which conferring early activation to the non-specificdefence mechanisms of fish and boosted the immune responses like phagocytic and respiratory burst activity,lysozyme activity, complement proteins, immunoglobulins (Igs), protease, anti-protease and alkalineprotease (ALP) and leucocytes promotion etc. It also inhibits the generation of oxygen anions and scavengesfree radical by increasing the antioxidant enzymes activity like catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathioneperoxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) during emergence of physiological disturbances. Theseherbs will promote the eco-friend health management of highly commercial fish species withoutcompromising the aquatic environment and ensure sustainable aquaculture with higher yield and nutrientcontent.