Antibacterial function of herbal extracts on growth, survival and immunoprotection in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon.

This study examined the effects of an herbal extract composed of nine herbs i.e Aloe vera, Andrographis pariculata, Annona squamosa, Azadirachta indica, Citrus aurantifolia, Coriandrum sativum, Ocimum sanctum, Ollium cepa and Psidium guajava on growth, survival rate and immunoprotection against pathogenic Vibrio harveyi in the tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. The petroleum ether, methanol and N-hexen extracts of different herbal plants were selected, processed and thoroughly mixed in equal proportions and added to the shrimp diets at a concentration of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mL kg-1. After 60 days of feeding, shrimps were challenged with V. harveyi bacteria (1 × 107 cells mL-1), which were isolated and propagated from the infected shrimps. The shrimps fed on diets with methanolic extraction of 2.5 mL kg-1 had significantly (P < 0.001) higher survival rate (76%), specific growth rate (4.26 ± 0.11%) and better food conversion ratio (1.5) than the other groups. This study indicates that addition of methanolic herbal extracts of 2.5 mL kg-1 can positively influence the immune response of tiger shrimp against V. harveyi infection.