METHODS OF EXTRACTION OF MUCIN FROM GIANT AFRICAN SNAIL ACHATINA FULICA BOWDICH

Abstract

Achatina fulica Bowdich is one of the most notorious pests in crop fields. However, the mucin secreted by this terrestrial mollusc has magnificent pharmaceutical attributes. In the present study, solvent and mechanical methods were explored to find out the best method of mucin extraction from this gastropod pest under laboratory conditions. In case of both medium and large sized snails, dichloromethane registered the maximum (2.79 ml and 2.94 ml, respectively) mucin collection out of the six solvents tested. Volume wise comparison showed that the maximum amount of mucin recovery was possible in the highest volume (3 ml) of solvents applied for both the age groups. Of all the mechanical methods tested, smoking method yielded maximum (2.05 ml and 3.02 ml) amount of mucin from both medium and large sized snails, respectively. However, the minimum mucin recovery was registered when the snails were allowed to move over rough tiles