IMMUNOSTIMULATION EFFECTS OF HERBAL BIOMEDICINES ON TIGER GROUPER (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) AGAINST V.

parahaemolyticus INFECTION Romi Novriadi1 and KB Haw2

1) Batam Mariculture Development Centre, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia 2) Engineering Consultant at Aquacultural Fresh and Marine Exploratory, Singapore

ABSTRACT

In the present study, the protective effect of herbal biomedicines based immunostimulants was tested on tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) juvenile at various times of their culture period to enhance their resistance against infectious diseases. The trial comprised an entirely herbal biomedicines control treatment with restrictive water changes. Three period of exposure (12 h, 24 h and 48 h) with herbal biomedicines as well as a control are performed in completely randomized design of experiment followed by a challenge test using single pathogenic bacteria: Vibrio parahaemolyticus at a concentration of 105 cells ml-1. Percentage survival, phagocytes activity and total leukocytes were determined at the end of exposure and challenge test. Various challenge tests showed that herbal biomedicines (AquaHerb) can significantly increase the percentage survival (P<0.05) of tiger grouper and improve their resistance against V. parahaemolyticus infection. Statistically, significant differences were also detected for phagocytes activity and total leukocytes in the treatment fish (P<0.05). However, they could not be correlated to a clear response to the period of exposure. Finally, by combining the positive impact of herbal biomedicines, this prophylactic approach can become a very effective alternatives to the use of antibiotics and other synthetic compounds.

Key Words: Herbal biomedicines, V. parahaemolyticus, Tiger grouper, Survival