Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Effects of different herbal extracts on the growth and immune defense of fish were researched in the last decade. The aim of this study was to determine the dietary effects of thyme ( Thymus vulgaris ), rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis ) and fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum graecum ) as a feed additive on haematology, innate immune response, and disease resistance of tilapia ( Oreochromis mossambicus ). In total 228 healthy fish tilapia were divided into four groups (57 fish in one group) and fed diets supplemented with thyme, rosemary and fenugreek at levels of 1%, respectively; fish in the control group were fed diet without any spices. Fish were fed ad libitum three times a day for 45 days. All fish of the experimental groups significantly ( P 0.05) changed during the whole experiment. After 45 days of feeding, fish were injected intraperitoneally with 100 μl of Streptococcus iniae (8 × 10 8 colony forming unit). The cumulative mortality was 22%, 27% and 31% in fish receiving diets supplemented with 1% thyme, rosemary and fenugreek, respectively, compared to 61% mortality in the control group. The results indicate that all three supplements used improved the haematological status, non-specific immune response and disease resistance of tilapia against S. iniae ; this is the first similar study.
Gültepe et al. (2014) studied this question.