Potential of medical herbal products to be used in aquaculture

The use of antibiotics as feed additives were limited in the European union member countries in 1998 with concerns that they may cause bacterial resistance and threat human health through residues in animal products. In 2006, these additives were completely banned. As a result, natural growth factors such as probiotic, organic acid, prebiotic and enzymes started to be used to replace antibiotics. In addition, medical plants, spices and essential oils of medical plants that are produced through the water distillation became alternatives to antibiotics. Several studies have been conducted on the growth, appetite, nutrition composition, immunity, resistance to diseases, stress, bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, sex inversion, larval development, blood serum and haematology of the plants used in commercial important cultured fish species. The fact that the plants used in these studies are antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic in addition to having qualities to strengthen immunity and to improve hematologic and biochemical criteria through the various compounds they contained prove that they can be an alternative to synthetic products. This presentation, which examines the properties of herbal products and their benefits to aquaculture, intends to evaluate the use of the said products in the field of aquaculture.