BlOCHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF SOME CATIONS ON THE SNAIL INTERMEDIATE HOST OF SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI

Abstract

Water cation pollution due to various industrial activities and animals wastes has been found to play an important role in the development and distribution of Biomphalaria alexandrina snail the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni in Egypt. So, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of some cations on biochemical and biological parameters of B. alexandrina snail. The biochemical parameters studied were: The accumulation levels of tested cations in the whole soft parts and different organs of snails as well as the activities of the transaminases alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total protein content in snail haemolymph. The biological parameters were; the growth rate, egg laying capacity, hatchability rate of deposited eggs and the mortality rate of adult snails. In addition histological architecture of the digestive and hermaphrodite glands and the toxic levels were studied. of tested cations against snails The cations investigated were copper, cadmium, zinc, lead, calcium, sodium,