Abstract
Immunostimulants have been used as a prospective substance against several disease events in aquaculture, although subsequent impact is not clearly explored yet. The present study was conducted to investigate the use of immunostimulants for fish health management in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. Questionnaire survey was performed with a total of 40 fish farmers and 20 chemical and drug retailers. Altogether, 41 immunostimulants under 7 different categories including glucans and polysaccharides, vitamins, minerals, vitamin-mineral premixes, enzymes, nucleic acids and plant extracts were reported. ACI, Eon, Acme, Square, Renata and SK+F were noticed as the prominent sources among 24 listed companies in this study. The most frequently used immunostimulants were recorded as Megavit-aqua (88.75%), Multivitamin (87.5%), Aqua-boost (87.25%), Eskalina (83.25%) and Eon fish grower (82.5%). Farmers in this study mentioned about improved health condition with lower average disease incidence (29.3%) and reduced mortality (65.35%) in fish after application of immunostimulant. The findings of this study will be useful to perform further research regarding the efficacy and impacts of a wide range of immunostimulants used in aquaculture of Bangladesh. SAARC J. Agric., 19(1): 237-248 (2021)
Highlights
Aquaculture being one of the fast-growing food sectors in the world constantly requires new technologies
Immunostimulants are mainly used as prophylactic interventions but are not recommended if disease is already present in the host
Depending on the active ingredients and contents, listed immunostimulants were grouped under 7 major categories namely glucans and polysaccharides, vitamins, minerals, vitamin-mineral premixes, enzymes, nucleic acids and plant extracts
Summary
Aquaculture being one of the fast-growing food sectors in the world constantly requires new technologies. Several disease outbreaks have been always one of the primary limiting factors for Accepted: 02.06.2021. Though the preventive measures have come out as partially successful actions for the last 20 years, huge economic loss due to disease is still reporting every year (Harikrishnan et al, 2011). Modern science is working on this issue to lower the economic loss and to ensure the better growth of farmed aquaculture species. Immunostimulants are such a discovery of this era as ‘bio‐friendly agents’ which may be incorporated as biological factors, probiotics and vitamins into the culture environment. Immunostimulants are non‐pathogenic and non‐toxic, and have been reported with no undesirable side effects when administered to aquatic animals (Wang et al, 2017)
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