title: The Effects of β - Glucan on Fish Immunity.
abstract: Administration of glucans through immersion, dietary inclusion or injection has been found to enhance many types of immune responses, resistance to bacterial and viral infections and to environmental stress in many fish species. Although the efficacy of the glucan varies with types and administration, glucan used as an immunomodulatory and mostly immunostimulatory additive has been found satisfactory in eliciting immunity in commercial aquaculture. Development of more efficient administration methods will facilitate the routine and prophylactic use of glucans as natural immunostimulants of fish. Using a PubMed search, this review has an extensive literature on glucan in fish immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
authors.forename: Vaclav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vetvicka
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vannucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sima
keywords: Aquaculture; Fish; Glucan; Immunity; Immunostimulation; Vaccination