Researchers discover new aquaculture antibiotic
SPAIN
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
http://www.fis.com/
After 10 years of research, Galician scientists have discovered a highly
effective and non-polluting natural medicine that can be used in
aquaculture.
Professors José Luis Sánchez and Ricardo Riguera from Compostela
University (UCS) Aquaculture Institute have succeeded in developing the
sector's first natural antibiotics. The discovery - which is being patented
and is not available to producers yet - is a revolutionary milestone for
aquaculture.
The scientists produced the antibiotics from marine bacteria, which they
found some months ago while working on a nutrition study with scallop and
oyster larvae. They discovered that at certain times the cultures improved
and that this improvement occurred when there were bacteria populations
present, reports La Voz de Galicia.
At this point, they isolated molecules and were able to synthesise this
totally natural medicine that will be used exclusively to fight some of the
pathogens that affect farmed fish and molluscs. At present, the medicine
used to combat these diseases are strong pollutants and therefore banned.
In an official statement, UCS says the research findings resulted in five
new molecules being patented so that they can be later sold to the public.
These products, which are easily degradable, require a dose that is 10 times
smaller than is currently used and are extremely effective in combating high
levels of mortality in farmed fish and molluscs.
The products are easy to synthesise in the lab without any need to cultivate
the bacteria, say the scientists, so the process is quick and cheap. All
that remains now is to make the antibiotics available to fish farmers.
By FIS Latino
(From Aquaculture Info List, e-mail: dave.conley@sympatico.ca)