Table 1.
Extended summary of the current available literature on nutritional effects of Lamiaceae family and Allium sp. derived phytogenics upon fish mucosal immune response.
| Phytogenic plant origin | Supplemented form | Inclusion dosage(s) tested | Period of administration | Main bioactive components (≤ 3) | Fish species | Performance | Mucosal parameters evaluation | Key benefits summary | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamiaceae family | |||||||||
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Powder | 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% |
8 weeks | N/I | Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila |
↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase activity ↑ Skin mucus total Ig ↑ Skin mucus protease activity ↑ Skin mucus total protein |
Beneficially affects the skin mucus immune parameters, growth performance and survival against pathogenic bacterial challenge | Rashidian, Boldaji (56) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Powder | 0.5% and 1.0% |
15 and 30 days |
N/I | Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | No effect | ↑ Skin mucus IgM ↑ Skin mucus bactericidal activity against P. damselae |
Oregano improves humoral immunity and increases the antibacterial activity of skin mucus | Beltrán, Gonzalez Silvera (57) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Ethanolic extract | 0.2% and 0.5% | 60 days + 7 days A. hydrophila challenge | N/I | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↑ Survival rate ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila |
↑ Skin mucus total Ig | Can effectively improve the fish growth, health, and immune status | Mohammadi, Rafiee (58) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Powder | 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 g kg-1 | 8 weeks | Carvacrol and thymol (Commercial product) |
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↑ SGR |
↑ Intestine villus height ↑ Intestine villus width ↑ Intestine crypt depth |
Dose-dependent enhancement of intestinal morphometry, which subsequently lead to improvement of nutrients absorption | Abdel-Latif, Abdel-Tawwab (59) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Essential oils | 0.75, 1.5, 2.25 and 3.0 g kg-1 | 64 days | Carvacrol, thymol and p-cymene |
Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | No effect | ↑ Intestine villus height | Increases intestinal villus size | Heluy, Ramos (60) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Essential oils | 0.5, 1.5 and 4.5 g kg-1 | 8 weeks + 7 days A. hydrophila challenge | N/I | Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) | ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila | ↓ TNF-a and TGF-b gene expression in intestine ↑ Actinobacteria phylum, and Propionibacterium, Brevinema and Corynebacterium genera ↓ Bacteroidetes phylum and Vibrio genus No effect on bacterial alpha diversity |
Presents immunomodulatory effects and enhances disease resistance. Also beneficially alters the gut bacterial community composition of fish | Zhang, Wang (61) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Powder | 0.5% and 1.0% | 30 days + cypermethrin exposure | Carvacrol and thymol (Commercial product) |
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | N/I | ↓ Gill histopathologic lesions ↓ Gill proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and caspase-3 immune positive cells |
Protective roles against the adverse effects of cypermethrin, enhancing recovery from the exposure | Khafaga, Naiel (62) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Essential oils | 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.05% and 0.10% | 24 days + 28 days I. salmonis and T. truttae challenge (Total 52 days) |
Carvacrol, p‐cymene and γ‐terpinene | Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) | ↑ feed efficiency ↓ I. salmonis infection ↓ T. truttae infection ↓ cumulative mortality |
Carvacrol content detected in the skin of fish fed the oregano supplemented diet | Preventive effects against I. salmonis and T. truttae and suggests the possibility that its anti‐parasitic action is attributable to the bioactive component emergence through the skin | Mizuno, Urawa (63) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | Essential oils | 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 g kg-1 |
90 days | N/I (Commercial product) |
Yellow tail tetra (Astyanax altiparanae) |
N/I | ↑ Intestine villus length ↑ Intestine villus width ↑ Intestine absorption area ↑↓ Intestine goblet cells number |
Promotes increased absorption surface area and modulates the number of goblet cells involved in protecting the intestinal mucosa | Ferreira, Caldas (64) |
| Marjoram (Origanum majorana) | Ethanolic extract | 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 g kg-1 | 60 days + 10 days A. hydrophila challenge | N/I | Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila |
↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase ↑ Skin mucus total Ig ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus alternative complement (ACH50) activity |
Increase fish skin mucosal immunity and performance | Yousefi, Ghafarifarsani (65) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) | Essential oils | 500 ppm | 30 days + thiamethoxam exposure | Thymol, p-cymene and γ-terpinene | African catfish (Clarias garipenus) | N/I | ↓ Gill histopathologic lesions | Mitigate the thiamethoxam induced toxicity | El Euony, Elblehi (66) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) | Aqueous extract | 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 g kg-1 | 2 weeks + oxytetracycline | N/I | Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | No effect | ↑ Intestine antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GPx and GST) activity ↓ Intestine levels of the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde |
Mitigate adverse effects of oxytetracycline and improve the fish immune responses | Hoseini and Yousefi (67) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) | Essential oils | 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1% | 15 days | Thymol, o-cymene and carvacrol | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | N/I | No effect upon the population of beneficial Bacillus bacteria in the gut | Stimulated the cellular components of the non-specific immune response without deleterious effects on the general health of the fish or the intestinal tract | Valladão, Gallani (68) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) | Essential oils | 0.005, 0.010 and 0.02 g kg-1 | 5 weeks | Thymol, p‐cymene and linalool |
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | No effect | No effect upon the allochthonous microbiota profile | No toxic effects do not significantly alter the intestinal contents bacterial populations | Navarrete, Toledo (69) |
| Spanish thyme (Thymus zygis subsp. gracilis) | Essential oils | 0.001, 0.002, 0.003 and 0.004 g kg-1 | 12 weeks | Thymol, p‐cymene and carvacrol | Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | No effect | ↑ Anterior intestine lymphocyte aggregates in the lamina propria at low dose ↓ Anterior intestine lymphocyte aggregates in the lamina propria at high doses |
Dose-dependent immuno‐modulatory effect upon the intestine | Hernandez, Garcia (70) |
| Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) | Ethanolic extract | 0.2% and 0.5% | 60 days + 7 days A. hydrophila challenge | N/I | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↑ Survival rate ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila |
↑ Skin mucus total Ig ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus protease activity ↑ Skin mucus alternative complement (ACH50) activity |
Can effectively improve the fish growth, health, and immune status | Mohammadi, Rafiee (58) |
| Peppermint (Mentha piperita) | Powder | 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 g kg-1 | 8 weeks | N/I | Caspian roach (Rutilus caspicus) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↓ Daily intake rate |
↑ Secretion of skin mucosal protein pattern bands; higher lysozyme band intensity in particular ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase activity ↑ Skin mucus soluble protein |
Act as a growth promoter and immunostimulant | Paknejad, Hosseini Shekarabi (71) |
| Peppermint (Mentha piperita) | Essential oils | 0.1 and 0.25 g kg-1 | 7, 14, 30 and 60 days | Menthol, mentone and 1,8-cineole | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | N/I | ↑ Intestine intraepithelial lymphocytes | Show benefits in terms of intestinal health and on immune parameters | Valladão, Gallani (72) |
| Peppermint (Mentha piperita) | Ethanolic extract | 1.0%, 2.0% and 3.0% | 8 weeks | N/I | Rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) | ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila | ↑ Skin mucus antibacterial activity against S. iniae, Y. ruckeri, A. hydrophila and L. garviea | Triggers the immune system of rainbow trout against Y. ruckeri | Adel, Pourgholam (73) |
| Peppermint (Mentha piperita) | Ethanolic extract | 1.0%, 2.0% and 3.0% | 56 days | N/I | Caspian kutum roach (Rutilus frisii kutum) | ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR |
↑ Skin mucus antibacterial activity against S. iniae, Y. ruckeri, L. monocytogenes and E. coli
↑ Skin mucus protein level ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase activity |
Increases the mucosal immune parameters and performance of fry in a dose dependent manner | Adel, Amiri (74) |
| Peppermint (Mentha piperita) | Ethanolic extract | 1.0%, 2.0% and 3.0% | 8 weeks | N/I | Caspian brown trout (Salmo trutta caspius) | ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR |
↑ Skin mucus protein level ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase activity |
Promote growth performance and have immunostimulant properties | Adel, Safari (75) |
| Horsemint (Mentha longifolia) | Ethanolic extract | 2.0%, 4.0% and 6.0% | 8 weeks + Y. ruckeri challenge | N/I | Caspian kutum roach (Rutilus frisii kutum) | ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↑ Survival rate |
↑ Skin mucus protein level ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase activity ↑ Skin mucus protease activity ↑ Skin mucus esterase activity ↑ Skin mucus antibacterial activity against S. iniae, Y. ruckeri, A. hydrophila and L. garvieae |
Improve growth performance and boost fish immune response in a dose‐related manner | Gholamhosseini, Adel (76) |
| Horsemint (Mentha longifolia) | Hydroalcoholic extract | 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% | 4 weeks + 10 days Y. ruckeri challenge | N/I | Rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) | ↑ Survival against Y. ruckeri | ↑ Secretion of skin mucosal protein pattern bands; higher lysozyme band intensity in particular | Dose‐related positive effect on immunogenicity and increased resistance to bacterial disease | Heydari, Firouzbakhsh (77) |
| Thumbai (Leucas aspera) | Powder | 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 and 8.0 g kg-1 |
45 days + 15 days S. agalactiae challenge | N/I | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↑ Weight gain ↓ FCR ↑ SGR ↑ Survival against S. agalactiae |
↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity ↑ Skin mucus peroxidase activity |
Increase skin mucosal immune parameters, performance and survival against bacterial infection | Kurian, Van Doan (78) |
| Shirazi thyme (Zataria multiflora) | Hydroalcoholic extract | 2.0 g kg-1 | 56 days | Thymol and carvacrol? (N/I) | Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | ↑ Survival rate | ↑ Skin mucus bactericidal activity against A. hydrophila
↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity |
Increase skin mucosal immunity | Mirghaed, Hoseini (79) |
| Shirazi thyme (Zataria multiflora) + Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) |
Powder (1:1) + aflatoxin B1 |
40 g kg-1
(20 g kg-1 each) |
12 weeks | N/I | Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | No effect | No effect | Do not prevent intestinal tissue lesions induced by aflatoxin B1 | Tasa, Imani (80) |
| Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) | Aqueous extract | 10, 20, 40, 80 and 100 ml/100 g | 20 days | 1,8-Cineole | Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | N/I | ↑ Skin mucus level of 1,8-Cineole dose-dependent No effect upon intestine histopathology |
High volume of extracts might promote hepatic toxicity | Zoral, Ishikawa (81) |
| Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) | Powder | 0.6, 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4 g kg-1 | 4 and 12 weeks | Carnosic acid and carnosol (1:1) | Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | No effect | No effect | The histological examination of the intestine showed no aspects that might pose problems for absorption, or any immune system disorder associated with the intestine | Hernandez, Garcia Garcia (82) |
| Oliveria (Oliveria decumbens) | Essential oils and/or hydroethanolic extract | 0.01%, 0.1% and 1.0% | 60 days + 14 days S. iniae challenge | γ-terpinene, carvacrol and thymol |
Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↑↓ Survival against S. iniae | No effect | Increase fish survival 14 days after challenge with S. iniae | Vazirzadeh, Jalali (83) |
| Clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum) | Ethanolic extract | 5.0, 10.0, and 15.0 g kg-1 | 12 weeks + 14 days L. monocytogenes challenge | N/I | African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) | ↑ final weight ↑ weight gain ↑ SGR ↑ Feed intake ↑ survival against L. monocytogenes |
↑ intestine villus length ↑ intestine villus width ↑ intestine absorption area |
Improve the fish performance, health, and immune response | Abdel-Tawwab, Adeshina (84) |
| Clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum) | Essential oils | 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% | 55 days + 10 days S. agalactiae challenge | 1,8-cineole, eugenol and β-selinene | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | N/I | ↑ Intestine villus height ↑ Intestine goblet cells number ↓ Gill epithelial detachment in the secondary lamellae ↓ Gill congestion at the base of the secondary lamellae |
Ameliorate tissue damages, even in situations of infection | Brum, Cardoso (85) |
| American basil (Ocimum americanum) | Essential oils | 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g kg-1 | 7 weeks | Linalool, eugenol and 1,8-cineole | Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) | No effect | ↑ Stomach lysozyme activity No effect upon the intestinal microbial community |
Different supplementation levels do not influence growth performance and intestinal microbial community; however, show effects on immunological responses | Sutili, Velasquez (86) |
| Savory (Satureja khuzestanica) | Powder | 1% | 45 days | N/I | Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | N/I | ↑ Intestinal lactic acid bacteria | Improves intestinal health | Mousavi, Mohammadiazarm (87) |
| Allium sp. | |||||||||
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Aqueous extract | 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 ml kg-1 | 80 days | N/I | Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) | No effect | ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme ↑ Skin mucus alternative complement ↑ Skin mucus total Ig ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase |
Administration of 0.15 mL of garlic extract per kg feed is suggested to obtain optimal skin mucus immunity | Motlag, Safari (88) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Oil | 50 µl kg-1 | 28 days + exposure to silver nanoparticles | N/I | Rohu (Labeo rohita) | N/I | ↓ Gill oxidative stress enzymes activity ↓ Gill histopathologic lesions |
Amelioration of silver nanoparticles-induced oxidative stress and histoprotective effects | Khan, Qureshi (89) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Powder | 0.5 g and 1.0 g/100 g | 2 months + 2 weeks S. iniae challenge |
N/I | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↑ Survival against S. iniae | ↑ Anterior intestine transcriptional levels of interleukin genes (IL‐10 and IL‐17F) ↑ OTU counts for the phylum of Proteobacteria and Tenericutes |
Could be effective in the prevention of S. iniae infection in fish | Foysal, Alam (90) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Powder | 5.0%, 10.0% and 20.0% | 14 or 28 or 32 days + C. irritans challenge | Allicin (1.25 mg/g) | Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) | ↓↑ Gills and caudal fin C. irritans infection | N/I | No clear preventative effect against C. irritans | Kim, Fridman (91) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Powder | 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% | 120 days | Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | ↑ Weight gain ↑ SGR |
↓ Bacterial diversity and richness ↑Deefgea, Mycoplasma, Exiguobacterium and Clostridium genera ↓↑ Aeromonas genus |
Beneficial in terms of promoting growth and inducing changes in the intestinal microbiota in a dose-dependent manner | Büyükdeveci, Balcázar (92) | |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Powder | 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 g kg-1 diet | 8 weeks | N/I | Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus) | ↑ Weight ↑ Growth rate |
↑ Skin mucus antibacterial activity against S. faecium, M. luteus, S. marcescens and E. coli
↑ Skin mucus protein level ↑ Skin mucus alkaline phosphatase activity |
Beneficially affects the skin mucus immune parameters and growth performance | Ghehdarijani, Hajimoradloo (93) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Lyophilized | 2.0% | 21 days + cadmium exposure | N/I | Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) | N/I | ↓ Gill histopathologic lesions | Shows chelating and antioxidant potential |
Nicula, Dumitrescu (94) |
| Onion (Allium cepa) | Powder | 1% | 45 days | N/I | Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | N/I | ↑ Intestinal lactic acid bacteria | Improves intestinal health | Mousavi, Mohammadiazarm (87) |
| Onion (Allium cepa) | Ethanolic extract | 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% |
12 weeks | N/I | African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) | No effect | ↓ Intestine villus length ↑ Intestine villus width ↑ Intestine absorption area ↑ Intestine cryptal depth |
Increase the digestive and absorptive capacity of the intestine | Bello, Emikpe (95) |
| Mongolian Wild Onion (Allium mongolicum) | Ethanolic extract | 0.04 g kg-1 | 4 weeks + chromium (Cr) exposure | Flavonoids ≥90% (HPLC) | Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) | N/I | ↓ Intestine and gill Cr accumulation ↓ Gill malondialdehyde content ↓ Gill protein carbonyl content ↑ Intestine lysozyme activity ↑ Intestine complement 3 levels ↑ Intestine and gill tight junction proteins gene expression ↑↓ Intestine and gill NF-κB signaling pathway gene expression |
Decrease in Cr-accumulation, oxidative stress, immunosuppression and inflammatory response following Cr exposure | Zhao, Yuan (96) |
| Single bioactive compounds | |||||||||
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)* | Ethanolic solution | 0.15, 0.3, 0.45, 0.6, 0.75 g kg-1 | 56 days + 14 days A. veronii challenge | Thymol (commercial product) | Snakehead fish (Channa argus) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Weight gain ↑ SGR ↑ Protein efficiency ratio ↓ FCR ↑ Survival to A. veronii |
↑ Intestine SOD, CAT, GSH-Px activities ↓ Intestine malondialdehyde content ↑ IL-10 and TGF-b gene expression in intestine ↓ HSP70, TNF-a, IL-1b and IL-8 gene expression in intestine |
Adequate dietary supplementation can effectively enhance the growth, antioxidant status, immune response and disease resistance | Kong, Li (97) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)* | N/I | 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 g kg-1 | 60 days + 8 days A. hydrophila challenge | Thymol (commercial product) | Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Survival against A. hydrophila |
↑ Gill enzymes of the phosphotransfer network: cytosolic and mitochondrial creatine kinases, adenylate kinase activities and ATP levels in infected fish ↓ Gill ROS levels in infected fish |
Favors weight gain and fish longevity. Prevents A. hydrophila induced branchial bioenergetics. High concentrations deserve attention because of side-effects | Morselli, Baldissera (98) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)* | Crystals | 0.5 g kg-1 | 70 days | Thymol (99% purity; commercial product) | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↑ SGR ↑ Protein efficiency ratio |
↓ Intestine total aerobic and anaerobic counts | Improve some performance parameters and negatively modulates intestinal microbial communities. Demonstrates a notable synergistic interaction with chitosan nanoparticle with beneficial effects | El-Naby, Al-Sagheer (99) |
| Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)* | N/I | 1.0 g kg-1 | 56 days | Thymol (commercial product) | Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | ↓ FCR | ↓ Intestine culturable anaerobe bacteria | Modulated intestinal microbial communities disfavoring total anaerobes | Giannenas, Triantafillou (100) |
| Oregano (Origanum vulgare)* | N/I | 1.0 g kg-1 | 56 days | Carvacrol (commercial product) | Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) | ↓ FCR | ↓ Intestine culturable anaerobe bacteria | Modulated intestinal microbial communities disfavoring total anaerobes | Giannenas, Triantafillou (100) |
| Chinese skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis)* | Powder | 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 g kg-1 | 60 days + H2O2 challenge | Baicalin (80% purity, commercial product) | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↓ FCR | ↑ Gill glutathione level ↑ Gill total antioxidant capacity |
Improves feed efficiency, enhance antioxidative ability and alleviate oxidative stress | Jia, Du (101) |
| Garlic (Allium sativum)* |
Liquid | 0.005%, 0.01% and 0.02% | 30 days | Allicin (98% purity, commercial product) | Large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) | ↑ Final weight ↑ Final length ↑ SGR ↑ survival rate |
↑ Intestine total antioxidant capacity ↑ Intestine antioxidant enzymes (CAT, NO and NOS) activity ↓ Intestine transcriptional levels of pro-inflammatory genes |
Improve the survival and growth of large yellow croaker larvae probably by promoting intestinal development, alleviating inflammation and enhancing appetite | Huang, Yao (102) |
| Phytogenics combinations | |||||||||
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 200 ppm | 70 days + 15 days N. girellae challenge | Garlic and Lamiaceae-plants oils (N/I; commercial additive) | Greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) | No effect | ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity 15 days post N. girellae challenge ↑ Piscidin gene expression in skin pre-challenge ↑ Proinflammatory cytokines (tnf-α and il1-β), AMPs (hep and cath), immunoglobulin (IgT), complement protein (c3) T-cells marker (cd8) and mucin (muc-2) gene expression in skin post-challenge ↓ Casp3 gene expression in skin post-challenge |
Facilitates the immunological response of skin once the parasite is fixed, generating a hostile microenvironment in skin and lowering the parasite load | Fernández-Montero, Torrecillas (16) |
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 0.3 g kg-1 | 8 weeks + 2 weeks hypoxia challenge (Total 10 weeks) |
Cinnamaldehyde, thymol and carvacrol | Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) | ↓ Hepatosomatic index | ↑ Intestine villi density ↓ Intestine malondialdehyde content |
Positive effects of digestion and antioxidative capacity | Ning, Zhang (103) |
| Phytogenics combination | Microencapsulated essential oils | 0.5% | 65 days | Garlic essential oil (N/I), carvacrol and thymol (Commercial additive) |
Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | No effect | ↑ Skin mucus inhibitory activity against V. anguillarum and P. anguilliseptica
↓ Cortisol in skin mucus ↑ Regulation of genes associated to the secretory pathway in skin ↑ Regulation of genes associated to non-specific immune response in skin ↑ Regulation of genes coding for oxidative stress enzymes in skin |
Beneficially affects the skin and mucus immune and stress parameters, suggesting the stimulation and recruitment of phagocytic cells and a reduction in the fish allostatic load | Firmino, Fernández-Alacid (14) |
| Phytogenics combination | Microencapsulated essential oils | 0.5% | 65 days | Garlic essential oil (N/I), carvacrol and thymol (Commercial additive) |
Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | No effect | ↑ Regulation of genes related to processes of proteolysis and inflammatory modulation, immunity, transport and secretion, response to cyclic compounds, symbiosis, and RNA metabolism in the mid-anterior intestine No effect upon alpha diversity of bacterial communities in the anterior and posterior intestinal tract sections ↓ Spirochaetes phylum in the posterior intestine ↑ Photobacterium and Corynebacterium genera in the anterior intestine ↓ Comamonas in the anterior intestine, and Paracoccus, Prevotella and Rothia genera in the posterior intestine ↓ Bacterial sequences related to carbohydrate and drug metabolisms, and membrane transport ↑ Bacterial sequences related to glutathione and lipid metabolisms, naphthalene degradation and sulphur relay system Evidence of host-microbial co-metabolism |
The activation of leukocytes and crosstalk between gut and microbiota are suggested to regulate the inflammatory response induced by the additive | Firmino, Vallejos-Vidal (12) |
| Phytogenics combination | Microencapsulated essential oils | 0.5% | 65 days + 39 days S. chrysophrii challenge (total 104 days) | Garlic essential oil (N/I), carvacrol and thymol (Commercial additive) |
Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | ↓ S.
chrysophrii total parasitation |
↑ Regulation of genes related pro-inflammatory immune response arbitrated by degranulating acidophilic granulocytes, sustained by antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses in gills ↑ Carboxylate glycoproteins containing sialic acid in mucous and epithelial gill’s cells |
Promotes gill mucosal immunity and reduces gill ectoparasite incidence | Firmino, Vallejos-Vidal (15) |
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 0.02% | 9 weeks + 1 week stress and V. anguillarum challenge | Garlic and Lamiaceae-plants oils (N/I; commercial additive) | European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | ↑ Survival against Vibrio anguillarum when stress-challenged | ↑ Skin mucus lysozyme activity when stress and bacterial challenge | Attenuate the fish physiological response to stress increasing resistance to Vibrio anguillarum infection | Serradell, Torrecillas (104) |
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 0.02% | 63 days | Garlic and Lamiaceae-plants oils (N/I; commercial additive) | European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | No effect | ↓ Shannon alpha diversity of mucosa-associated microbiota ↑Clostridiales order in intestinal content ↓ Coliforms and Vibrionales allochthonous microbiota |
Reduction of orders containing potentially pathogenic species for fish, and enrichment of gut microbiota composition with butyrate producer taxa | Rimoldi, Torrecillas (105) |
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 200 ppm | 63 days + 7 days stress and V. anguillarum challenge | Garlic and Lamiaceae-plants oils (N/I; commercial additive) | European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | No effect | ↓ Posterior intestine fold area covered by goblet cells ↓ Posterior intestine goblet cells area ↑ Intestine mucus coverage post-challenge |
Protective effect focused mainly on the preileorectal valve region | Torrecillas, Terova (13) |
| Phytogenics combination | N/I extract | 6.0 g kg-1 | 30 days + 10 days crowding stress (40 days total) | Saint John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum, Hypericacea), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis, Lamiaceae) and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, Lamiaceae) mixed at a ratio 3:2:1 | Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) | No effect | ↓ Gut lipid peroxidation | Improves the gut antioxidant status | Reyes-Cerpa, Vallejos-Vidal (106) |
| Phytogenics combination | Powder | 1% | 45 days | Savory (Satureja khuzestanica, Lamiaceae) 0.5% and Onion (Allium cepa, Alliaceae) 0.5% | Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) | N/I | ↑ Intestinal lactic acid bacteria | Improves intestinal health | Mousavi, Mohammadiazarm (87) |
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 0.06, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 g kg-1 | 6 weeks | Thymol and carvacrol (1:1; commercial additive) | Hybrid tilapia (O. niloticus ♀ × O. aureus ♂) | N/I | ↑ Posterior intestine villus height ↑ Posterior intestine goblet cell count per villus ↑ Anterior intestine intraepithelial leucocytes ↓ Distal intestine intraepithelial leucocytes ↑ OTUs, and PD whole tree and Chao1 diversity indexes ↓Thermi phylum and Bacteroides, Candidatus Cardinium, and Leptospirillum genera |
Affect the immunity primarily through a direct effect on host tissue but also has an indirect effect mediated by microbial changes | Ran, Hu (107) |
| Phytogenics combination | Essential oils | 100 ppm | 9 weeks | 25% thymol and 25% carvacrol (commercial additive) | Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) | ↓ FGR | ↑ Intestine mucosal foldings ↑ Intestine enterocytes ↑ Intestine goblet cells ↓ Expression of genes related to cell differentiation and proliferation, intestinal architecture and permeability, immunosurveillance, such as cytokines, in the intestine |
Induce an anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative transcriptomic profile with probable improvement in the absorptive capacity of the intestine | Perez-Sanchez, Benedito-Palos (108) |
SGR, Specific Growth Rate.
FCR, Feed Conversion Ratio.
FGR, Feed Gain Ratio.
OTU, Operational Taxonomic Unit.
*Indicate the putative plant species with high content of the referred bioactive compound. N/I, not identified or not assessed.
Studies reporting the application of plant extracts or related compounds as bath treatments or evaluating bactericidal or antiparasitic effects in vitro were excluded from the selection. The table omits systemic immunity-related results, digestive enzymes or other complementary analysis performed within each study. Blends with other components besides the selected group of plants, terpenes or organosulfur compounds were excluded as well.