Premium
Application of immunostimulants in aquaculture: current knowledge and future perspectives
Author(s) -
Wang Wei,
Sun Jing,
Liu Cenjie,
Xue Zhuang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/are.13161
Subject(s) - aquaculture , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , shrimp , fish <actinopterygii> , immunostimulant , immune system , food science , ecology , fishery , immunology
Similar to other industries, aquaculture constantly requires new techniques to increase production yields. Modern technologies and different scientific fields, such as biotechnology and microbiology, provide important tools that could lead to a higher quality and a greater quantity of products. New feeding practices in farming typically play an important role in aquaculture, and the addition of various additives to a balanced feed formula to achieve better growth is a common practice of many fish and shrimp feed manufacturers and farmers. As ‘bio‐friendly agents’, immunostimulants, such as biological factors, probiotics and vitamins, can be introduced into the culture environment to control and kill pathogenic bacteria, as well as to promote growth of the cultured organisms. In addition, immunostimulants are non‐pathogenic and non‐toxic and do not produce undesirable side effects when administered to aquatic organisms. In this review, we summarize previous studies performed with both traditional immunostimulants and the most promising new generation of immunostimulants, such as polysaccharides, nutrients, oligosaccharides, herbs, microorganisms, prebiotics and different biological factors. This review primarily focuses on their protective efficacies and on what is known concerning their effects on the immune systems of aquatic organisms when delivered in vivo .