Immunostimulant functions of plants (peppermint, Lamiaceae family) utilized to enhance immune system in diverse fish species

Fish are constantly in contact with pathogens inhabiting water. Disease outbreaks increase proportionally with increases in intensive aquaculture. In order to prevent major economic losses due to diseases, various medications are used for treatment and prevention of infections. Inclusion of dietary herbal supplements in aquafeed can be considered as a growth promoter and enhancer of immunity system in preventing various fish infections. These plants can be administered orally by being incorporated as feed additives. Among immunostimulants used in aquaculture, herbal is promising due to their propensities to improve growth performance, fish immunity, and their antimicrobial properties, as they are good alternatives to chemical treatments and antibiotics. To date, many studies have focused on the administration of dietary medicinal herbs and their extracts as potential immunostimulants in aquaculture and positive results reported on growth performance, feed utilization, immune response and disease resistance of various fish species. The aim of this article is to review a medicinal plant from mint family as its effectiveness on mucus immune parameters.