## 3 Discussion  
Many previous studies have demonstrated the promising prospects of using aququonics and hydroponics to cultivate vegetables sustainably [33; 34; 35]; in addition, the current results suggest that aquaponics and hydroponics can also be used to produce high-quality medicinal plants [36]. This study's findings show that aquaponics slightly outperformed hydroponics in plant growth (plant height, fresh and dry weight), although there were no significant differences between the two cultivation methods. These results agree with a previous study, which showed that the dry weights of _Solanum Lycopersicum L_. did not significantly differ between organic and aquaponic cultivation methods [37]. Earlier, [PERSON] et al. (2017) [38] studied spinach yields in hydroponic, aquaponic, and traditional (soil-based cultivation) systems, and found that aquaponically grown spinach had a higher yield than hydroponically and traditionally cultivated spinach. Additionally, [PERSON] et al. (2016) [39] used tomatoes to assess whether the mineral contents and nutritional quality in plants grown in aquaponically and conventionally grown tomatoes were similar; the aquaponically grown plants were equivalent or superior to conventionally grown tomatoes. [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2009) [33] also reported that the plant yield of an aquaponic system was similar to conventional hydroponic production systems for three crops, aubergine, tomato, and cucumber. However, in an earlier study, [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2011) [40] reported that hydroponics outperformed aquaponics in many of the assessed growth parameters for two species (_Mentha sativa_ and _Mentha piperita_). These authors suggested the growth of plants in aquaponic systems was likely slowed down compared to hydroponic systems because of lower concentrations of critical nutrients, such as Mn and Mg, in _Mentha sativa_ shoots, and N, P, Mg, and Mn in _Mentha piperita_. In this study, we found no clear association between the tissue nutrient contents and the plant growth parameters. The tissue nutrient contents of C, Ka, and Ca were not significantly different between hydroponic and aquaponic plant leaves; however, the tissue macronutrient contents of N, P, and Mg were significantly higher in the hydroponic plants. Previous reports suggest that despite lower concentrations of most tissue nutrients in the aquaculture water, aquaponic plant growth results were comparable to those of hydroponics, and production can be even better than in soil cultivation [33; 41; 42; 43]. In a recent study, researchers found that plants grown in aquaponic systems grow at the same rate or even faster than conventionally or field-grown plants [44]. This result is not unexpected given that plants have optimal thresholds for each nutrient, beyond which growth may not be positively affected. Tissue macronutrient levels in \(H\). _odoratissimum_ plants in the hydroponic system were higher for N, P, and Mg. However, this was expected because hydroponic systems have readily available nutrients in the nutrient-rich medium, unlike aquaponic systems. However, concerning aquaponic performance in terms of tissue macronutrient contents in plants, it has been proven that aquaponic systems can generate comparable concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg [34]. These elements are essential elements for plant growth [41]. The aquaponic system outperformed the hydroponic system in many of the plant leaf tissues' essential micronutrients (Mn, Cu, and Zn) (Table 3). Perhaps the high concentrations of these nutrients in the aquaponics plants could be due to the high concentration of these elements in fish feed, which is routinely dissolved in the water, and then absorbed by the plants. According to [PERSON] et al. (2018) [45], at least 50% of the nutrients in an aquaponic system come from uneaten fish feed and solid and soluble fish excretions; hence, monitoring the nutrient concentrations available for plant absorption is complex but critical.