Microbial assessment of aquaculture probiotics sold in the Indian market

Abstract

Probiotics are increasingly being used inaquaculture as an alternative strategy to antibiotic use in the management of aquatic diseases and water quality in aquaculture. The study was conducted to assess the microbial quality of fifty eight aquaculture probiotic products sold in Andhra Pradesh, India. It was found that only 41 per cent of the products had microbial count and composition on the label, 17 per cent had only microbial count, 16 per cent had microbial composition only while 26 per cent of products did not provide any information regarding the microbial count and composition. Suitable media were used for determination of microbial counts of these probiotics. Based on the analysis, only 22 per cent of the products contained microbial count as claimed in the label. Even though 21 per cent of the products had declared that they contain nitrifying, denitrifying bacteria or Thiobacillus spp., we were not able to isolate these bacteria from any of the products. About 10 per cent of the probiotic products had counts lower than 10 raised to 2 cfu g raised to minus one. The study points to the need for a regulatory framework for probiotics sold in the Indian market. quaculture is an excellent, explorable avenue for a state like Kerala in India. Unplanned mushrooming growth of shrimp farms in developing countries created unsustainable environmental problems. Consequently, the emphasis of coastal aquaculture, especially shrimp culture, has shifted from maximizing production to sustainable production with minimum damage to environment. Macrobrachium rosenbergii is an economically important species of prawn that is gaining prominence in culture fisheries due to its sturdy, fast growth, attractive size and better meat quality. The Ocimum sanctum is a traditional medicinal plant used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for a number of human health problems. Phytochemical compounds in leaf include eugenol, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid other active compounds includes caryphyllene and oleanolic acid. Seeds contain linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Nutritional components include vitamin A and C, minerals calcium, iron and zinc as well as chlorophyll. Tannins, alkaloids, glycosides and saponins are abundant in Tulsi. The present investigation was carried out to assess the alterations in the microbial profile at certain non specific immune sites of M. rosenbergii supplemented with Ocimum sanctum. The observations are reported and discussed in this paper.