Journal of Molluscan Research, (JMR) Volume 9, 2022
*Owolabi, D.O, Akinnusi, F.A.O ., Esue, S.E. and Ihionkhan, S.O.
ABSTRACT
The demand for snail as food and other purposes has promoted snail farming and one of the problems faced by snail farmers is snail aestivation which sometimes led to death of snails. Determining biochemical composition in the slime of Archachatina marginata is a way to obtain and understand valuable information about snail physiology during stressful times.
This study therefore aimed at determining the effect of aestivation on the biochemical parameters of snail’s slime. Twenty snail samples were killed and their slime collected for analyses. The proximate and mineral analyses were done by AOAC methods, the metabolites, enzymes and anti-oxidant were analyzed using the spectrophotometry method. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the activities of all the enzymes examined.
Amylase had the least activity while lipase and protease were the most active enzymes in the slime. The highest metabolite in the slime of A. marginata was LDH (Lactate dehydrogenase) while lactate had the lowest activity. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in all the minerals examined but calcium increased gradually to peak in the first 20 days after which there was a reduction while magnesium, potassium and sodium showed an irregular pattern. The results indicated that aestivation has effects on the biochemical composition of A. marginata slime.
Keywords: proximate, minerals, metabolites, Archachatina marginata, slime
