Phytotherapy and combined nanoformulations as a promising disease management in aquaculture: a review

Aquaculture-based foods have enriched nutritional and medicinal value to meet the needs of the global population. Recently, improper maintenance of aquatic organisms in aquaculture sector led to the outbreak of infectious diseases by pathogens. Treatment of disease by conventional methods (chemical) causes adverse effects to culturing organisms, the environment, and even to consumers. As an alternative to conventional methods, a variety of medicinal plant compounds like curcumin, quercetin, silymarin, Ajoene, and caffeic acid were used for disease control since they enhance the non-specific immunity. Phytotherapy-based techniques/compounds were preferred by aqua industry to develop resistance against a variety of aquatic pathogens in culture organisms since they are inexpensive and eco-friendly. Recent advances in nanotechnology pave the way to incorporate various medicinal plant-based nanoformulations to control aquatic microbial pathogens. Therefore, this review expresses in detail the versatile uses of phytotherapies and their based nanoformulation as a promising tool for disease management in aquaculture.