Commonly available spices to be used as feed additive to improve health of fish

Abstract

Since antibiotics are banned to be used as growth promoters and therapeutic measures in aquaculture. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of solvent extracts of four Indian spices viz., Turmeric, Cumin, Ginger and Garlic. The antioxidant capacity of the spice extracts were found in descending order: Cumin>Garlic>Turmeric>Ginger by DPPH (2, 2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl) method, Garlic>Cumin>Turmeric>Ginger by Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power Assay (FRAP) method and Turmeric>Garlic>Cumin>Ginger by Total Phenolic Content (TPC) method. Cumin had the highest antimicrobial effect (9mm) at maximum concentration on the growth of bacterial strains Vibrio vulnificus and Micrococcus leutieus followed by Garlic (8mm), Ginger (8mm) and Turmeric (7mm). These results indicated that the spice extract supplement is a promising prophylactic measure for the fish health improvement.