Application of Medicinal Herbal Plants in Aquaculture

Abstract

Global aquaculture development increased significantly over the past few decades, and the sector has been mainly affected by disease outbreaks due to intensive culture practices. Antibiotics have been used to control infectious diseases but their residues accumulated in the animal tissues, remain in the aquatic environment, posing a risk to the consumer’s health and causing environmental pollution. The use of medicinal herbal plants as natural and innocuous compounds has potential in aquaculture as an alternative to antibiotics and immunoprophylactics. Medicinal herbal plants have active compounds such as tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, phenolics, steroids, and flavonoids that posses various biological activities. This article is to be highlighted the applications of medicinal herbal plant extracts or their combinations act as the anaesthetic compounds, appetite stimulator, growth promoter, antistress, antioxidant, immunostimulants, antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic and antifungal agents in aquaculture.