European Journal of Biotechnology and Bioscience

Authors
Shubha Ratna Shakya, Shyam Narayan Labh

Abstract
Aquaculture is a source of livelihood for many economically under privileged people in the least developed countries including Nepal. In recent years, with intensification and rapid development of aquaculture enterprises, occurrence of infectious diseases has cause huge economic losses. The main disease causative agents are bacteria, virus and parasites. The excess use of antibiotics and various synthetic chemicals have resulted in drug residue and resistant pathogens in treated fish. Drug residue pollutes the environment and threatens humans consuming them. Antibiotics that accumulate in the environment and fish pose a potential threat to consumers and to the environment. Increased public awareness of the negative effects caused by overexposure to synthetic chemicals has led to search for ''green drugs'' such as organic and synthetic chemical-free food products. In this regard, garlic (Allium sativum) as a natural antibiotic is the earliest known medicinal plant, has shown to be effective for the treatment of many diseases in humans and animals owing to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and antihypertensive properties. In aquacultural operations, optimized dose of garlic is strongly recommended. Hence, this review focuses on the application of garlic in on growth performance, flesh quality, antimicrobial activity, as an immunostimulant and antiprotozoal agent in aquaculture.