| Sumario: | Various sectors of the aquaculture industry would benefit if cultured organisms were conferred with enhancedgrowth performance, feed efficiency and disease resistance. As such, the cost of medication and production costscould be reduced and consumer perceptions would be improved. It has been documented in a number of terrestrialanimals and humans that microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract plays important roles in affecting the nutrition andhealth of the host. Dietary application of probiotics, which are live microbial organisms, may be restricted due toregulatory approvals and technical constraints such as heat inactivation during feed manufacturing. Thus, prebiotics,which are non-digestible feed ingredients that benefit the host by stimulating growth and activity of healthpromotingbacteria, recently has attracted attention. Probiotics may promote growth of bacteria such asLactobacillus and Bifidobacter spp. in the intestine and limit potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella.Such compounds have been reported to favorably affect various terrestrial species; however, such information incurrently limited for aquatic organisms although some positive effects of prebiotic supplements on fish andcrustaceans recently have been published. This paper will review recent studies in which the effects of variousprebiotics have been evaluated for potential application in the aquacultural production of fish and shrimp.
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