Aquaculture is an important animal production industry and since its
beginnings it has been threatened by the occurrence of infectious diseases of various
etiologies. Of these, bacterial diseases are one of the most damaging both to fish and
shellfish aquaculture. The use of antibiotics to control such infections poses a number
of disadvantages such as low efficacy, antibiotic resistance and antibiotic residues in
product, water and soil. One of the alternatives to antibiotic use is the application of
plants with antimicrobial properties, and other pharmacological activities. Mexico has
an ancient knowledge and use of medicinal plants, which are still used. Many plants of
the family Verbenaceae, genus Lippia are commonly known as Mexican oregano.
These seem to form a complex of closely related species, including L. graveolens, L.
berlandieri, L. alba and other infraspecies which are located between the Chihuahua
desert to southern Mexico and Central America. These species are usually used as
spices to flavor food. Nonetheless, they also have different medicinal properties and
have been traditionally used to treat a number of illnesses and ailments. One of their
curative properties is antimicrobial, and therefore, many studies have been done in
various species of the complex to elucidate their chemical composition and effect in
various biological systems both in human and veterinary medicine. The study of
Mexican oregano species in aquaculture is very recent, but it has uncovered a number
of very useful pharmacological properties, including anesthetic, anti-stress and
anxiolytic, antiparasite and antimicrobial. The present chapter presents a review on
general aspects of aquaculture, its history, the main infectious agents affecting the
industry and the current control measures used against diseases. It also focuses on the
application of essential oils of some Lippia species regarded as Mexican oregano and
their use as alternative natural products to antibiotics and other chemicals used in
aquaculture.
Keywords: Anaesthetics, Antimicrobial activity, Aquaculture, Aquatic animal
health, Carvacrol, Essential oils, Fish, Infectious diseases, Lippia spp. , Oregano,
Oysters, Shrimp, Sisease control methods, Thymol.
