Role of ginger in fish nutrition with special emphasis on growth, health, gut and liver morphology

Abstract

Ginger, Zingiber officinale, is a medicinal herb widely used for its distinct flavor and medicinal properties. It contains various bioactive compounds, including zingerone, shogaols, gingerol saponin, polyphenols, and flavonoids, which confer anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. Ginger and its derivatives such as powder, essential oil, and active ginger extracts have been used as natural functional ingredients with health‐promoting and disease‐preventing properties. In recent studies, ginger derivatives have been tested in aquafeeds for their potential as safe herbal medicines. They have shown several benefits, acting as growth promoters and modulators of physiological and biochemical functions. Ginger has been found to improve growth performance, modulate immunity, and enhance disease resistance in fish. Its organic constituents exhibit potent anti‐stress, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic activities, thereby boosting the specific and nonspecific immunity of aquaculture fish. This review provides a comphrensive summary of studies exploring the effects of dietary ginger on various aspects of fish health including growth performance, blood parameters, immunity, disease resistance, gut morphology, antioxidant status, and molecular mechanisms. Furthermore, the review emphasizes the necessity of elucidating the specific bioactive compounds in ginger responsible for its biological functions and their mechanisms of action against infectious diseases in different fish species.