Dietary supplementation of garlic (Allium sativum) to prevent Acanthocephala infection in aquaculture

Abstract

This study showed the uses of garlic (Allium sativum) supplemented feed on Clarias batrachus for the judgment of garlic potential against Acanthocephala. Garlic allicin content (an active component of garlic) worked for C. batrachus to inhibit infection by Acanthocephala. Four garlic supplemented diets (50, 100 150 and 200 ml/kg) of different concentrations and a non-supplemented control diet were fed to C. batrachus for three months. Long-term (90 days) supplementation with garlic significantly reduced infection success by up to 80% as compared to controls and did not negatively affect palatability of the feed, Specific Growth Rate (SGR) (3.60±0.13) and Food Conversion Ratio (FCR) (2.33±0.38). Infection success was not influenced by short-term (30 days) supplementation suggesting that a delayed host response must occur to improve resistance to infection [prevalence (71%, 35%) and intensity (0.8, 0.5)] and 60 days conditioning period showed reduction of parasite respectively [prevalence (75%, 25%) and intensity (1, 0.6). Incorporation of garlic into a pressure-extruded pellet was found to be an effective method of delivery as only minimal leaching of allicin from the diet occurred (˂ 3% of allicin detected) during the interval of water contact between delivery and consumption. This study demonstrates that garlic extract (200 mL/kg) administered as a dietary supplement is one of the most practical methods to prevent Acanthocephala infection in Aquaculture.