Live-food mediated drug delivery as a tool for disease treatment in larviculture: 2. A case study with European seabass

• Main Authors: Chair, M, Romdhane, M.S, Dehasque, M, Nelis, H, De Leenheer, A.P, Sorgeloos, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 24.08.2000
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Aquaculture techniques; Dicentrarchus labrax [Bass]; Disease control; Fish culture; Fish larvae; Food additives; Food organisms

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of oral delivery of the antibiotics Trimethoprim (TMP) and Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) to marine fish larvae through incorporation of these antibiotics into the live food organism Artemia. SMX and TMP were selected for their wide range action against gram negative pathogenic bacteria and because of their limited solubility in seawater. Ormetoprim-Sulfadimethoxine (brand name Romet-30) is a new combination of a similar antimicrobial drug used in aquaculture. Diseased penaeid larvae fed Romet-30 through the food chain exhibited greater survival than the untreated ones. In an earlier study Verpraet have described a technique for bioencapsulating high doses of more than 500 mu g TMP + SMX per gram dry weight (DW) Artemia nauplii. In this study we have used 2-month-old European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) larvae that were fed with TMP + SMX - bioencapsulated Artemia nauplii.