“…Intensive management practices in fish are represented mainly by excessive transportation (De Oliveira et al, 2022; Sena et al, 2016), handling (Oliveira et al, 2019; Sena et al, 2016) and densification (Chung et al, 2020; Lemos et al, 2018), which may cause stress in fish, leading to reduced growth, metabolic changes and greater susceptibility to diseases (Schreck & Tort, 2016). In this sense, the use of essential oils in the diet has been considered a preventive practice because it helps to increase zootechnical parameters (Acar et al, 2015; Chung et al, 2020; Chung, Ribeiro, Melo, et al, 2021; De Souza et al, 2019, 2020; Diler et al, 2016); reduce hyperglycemia (Souza et al, 2019, 2020); and improve haematological (Chung, Ribeiro, Melo, et al, 2021; Ribeiro, Castelo, et al, 2016; Ribeiro, Freitas, et al, 2016; Saei et al, 2016), biochemical (Chung, Ribeiro, Teixeira, & Copatti, 2021; Lopes et al, 2019; Souza et al, 2020), immunological (Baba et al, 2016; Sutili, Murari, et al, 2016; Sutili, Velasquez, et al, 2016; Al‐Sagheer et al, 2018) and intestinal enzyme (De Souza et al, 2020; Souza et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2020) responses. Essential oils may also represent an alternative to synthetic antibiotics in aquaculture (Felix e Silva et al, 2022).…”