Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Oils in Aquafeeds: Mechanistic Perspectives on Growth Promotion, Immunomodulation, and Stress Resilience.
Öz M, Üstüner E, Çifci S
Sustainable Aquaculture
The aromatic herbs you grow on your windowsill or in your garden are being seriously studied as natural, antibiotic-free health supplements for the farmed fish on your dinner plate — bringing your herb garden one step closer to the global seafood supply.
Researchers reviewed dozens of studies on adding oils from medicinal and aromatic herbs — the kind used in cooking and traditional medicine — to the food given to farmed fish. These plant oils seem to help fish eat more, keep their gut bacteria balanced, and fight off illness naturally, without synthetic drugs. The catch is that outcomes vary a lot depending on which oil is used, which fish species it's given to, and how much, so scientists still need to nail down the right recipes before fish farmers can rely on them.
Key Findings
Plant oils rich in phenolic monoterpenes and phenylpropenes (compounds found in herbs like thyme and oregano) can stimulate appetite and positively reshape the gut microbiome of farmed fish.
MAPOs enhance fish antioxidant defenses through the Nrf2-Keap1 molecular pathway, a mechanism also central to stress resilience in plants and mammals, leading to measurable improvements in disease resistance.
Outcomes are highly inconsistent across studies due to chemotypic variability in essential oils, unstandardized extraction methods, and dose-dependent effects that can sometimes be neutral or suppressive rather than beneficial.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A new review examines how oils extracted from medicinal and aromatic herbs — think oregano, thyme, and their relatives — can be added to farmed fish feed to promote growth, strengthen immunity, and reduce disease. Results are promising but inconsistent across fish species and oil types, pointing to a need for standardized research before these plant oils become routine commercial additives.
Abstract Preview
The aquaculture industry is increasingly transitioning toward sustainable aquafeeds, driven by the economic and environmental necessity to replace marine-derived fishmeal and fish oil with plant- a...
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