 Original article written by Emma Penrod The project aims to expand the limited number of approved antibiotics and alternatives available in aquaculture. Original article written by Emma Penrod Scientists from three universities will spend the next three years testing dozens of plant extracts that could provide fish producers more alternatives to antibiotics. Mississippi State University, Auburn University and Texas A&M University have received funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pursue the work, which will involve identifying plant compounds with antibiotic potential in laboratory screening and then testing the most promising candidates in catfish. Researchers are screening plant extracts of interest — including those from plants used in Chinese and other traditional medicines to those that have shown promise in previous scientific trials. Results so far seem promising, with some plant extracts outperforming common antibiotics in laboratory trials, according to Haitham Mohammed, an assistant professor of fish health and disease at Texas A&M University. He said the research team expects to begin feeding trials by the end of next year. In the final stages of the study, scientists will test the plant extracts in fish intentionally exposed to common pathogens to assess how the compounds perform compared with antibiotics. Because there are only three antibiotics approved for use in fish in the U.S., the aquaculture industry is prone to over-reliance on this limited range of products. This increases the risk that disease-causing bacteria will develop resistance to these drugs, Mohammed said. The goal of this multi-year study, he said, is to increase the range of products available to fish producers and decrease the risk that pathogens will become resistant to any one product. But plant-based antibiotic alternatives come with a range of other potential benefits, Mohammed said. They're better for the environment, don't require extended withdrawal periods and may be cheaper to produce than antibiotics. Feeding trials in the later years of the study will focus on catfish, the most commonly farmed species in the southeastern U.S. But plant compounds might also benefit other species such as salmon, trout and tilapia, Mohammed said. Original article posted in FeedStrategy.com antibiotic researchanimal welfareanimal agricultureComments are closed.
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