Treating Bacterial Infections in Fishes and Shrimps Using Seaweed Extracts

Abstract

The use of seaweeds in the treatment of bacterial infections can help to reduce antibiotic resistance. Use of brown and green seaweed extracts, in particular, promotes immunological protection against fish and shrimp. For 45 days, juveniles were given seaweed extracts in concentrations of 2.5 and 5 g kg-1 in conjunction with their meal. The extracts contained bioactive molecules that were both antioxidant and antibacterial in nature, making them very effective against infections. When compared to the other extracts, the ethanol and aqueous extracts of the seaweeds give good antibacterial effect against bacterial infections in fish, indicating that they were more effective. Using algal extracts to treat infections in aquaculture is a cost-effective and ecologically friendly method of disease management. Using these extracts as a prophylactic step could be beneficial.