Promising sea lice results from essential oil aquafeed solution

Editor/Mohamed Shihab

Kaiseraugst, Switzerland-headquartered DSM-Firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) has found that its essential oil solution for farm animals, Digestarom PEP MGE, can reduce sea lice attachment on Atlantic salmon by 68 percent, offering a natural alternative to traditional chemical treatments.
Louise Buttle, the aqua lead for DSM-Firmenich ANH’s sustainability service Sustell and a global key account manager at the firm, told SeafoodSource that Digestarom has been specifically formulated for use in aquafeed with essential oils that provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties for fish. She also said it modulates gut microbials and strengthens mucosal protection.
“One of the key advantages of essential oil-based solutions is their multi-modal activity. Digestarom influences several biological pathways simultaneously, significantly reducing the likelihood of resistance development compared to single-mode chemical treatments,” she said. “In addition, this in-feed approach [could] be used as part of a sea lice management strategy where a combination of solutions is needed in a commercial situation.”
Early results have the company excited, Buttle said, and while in commercial settings, sea lice present a less predictable challenge and local legislation often mandates treatment at relatively low infestation levels, DSM-Firmenich ANH remains convinced that fish diets using Digestarom will have “a positive effect in the field,” she said.
However, in a commercial setting, the way Digestarom’s benefits are measured must differ from the laboratory approaches taken so far, Buttle explained...