Prebiotics in Finfish: An Update

Worldwide interest in prebiotics has increased in endothermic animals as well as in fish. Various sectors of the aquaculture industry would benefit if cultured organisms were conferred with improved growth performance, feed efficiency, disease resistance, modulation of the gut microbiota and enhanced immune responses. According to recent reviews, the potential benefits to health and performance in various endothermic animals are documented in numerous studies while the use of prebiotics in aquaculture has been less investigated. However, the studies carried out on prebiotics in fish and shellfish have investigated the following parameters: effect on growth performance, feed conversion, gut microbiota, gut morphology, cell damage in the gut, resistance against pathogenic bacteria and innate immune parameters. This review discusses the results from studies published post 2009–2010. Readers with an interest in probiotic studies published prior to 2009–2010 are referred to review papers previously published. If the use of prebiotics leads to health responses becoming more clearly manifested in fish and shellfish, then prebiotics might have the potential to increase the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture production. However, gaps of knowledge exist and in order to fully elucidate the beneficial effects of adding prebiotics to fish diets the topic merits further investigations.