Effect of Mucuna prurienson Ovo-Testis Histology of Giant African Land Snail (Archachatina marginata)

Abstract

Astudy was conducted to evaluate effect of Mucunapruriens on ovo testis histology of
giant African land snail (Archachatinamarginata). Thirty (30) snails with weight
range of 100- 150g were used for the study. Ten (10) snails were assigned to each of
the three dietary treatments which include: Concentrate (CON), mixture of
concentrate and Mucuna seed powder (CON + MSP) and Mucuna seed powder
(MSP) only. At the end of eight (8) weeks, three (3) snails each per treatment were
selected and dissected. Ovo testis was harvested from each treatment and processed
for histology. Parameters monitored were: ova and spermatozoa formation in ovo
testis. Results showed that snails fed with mixture of Mucuna seed powder and
concentrate had well formed ova but scanty spermatozoa, while those fed with
Mucuna seed powder only had severe diffuse vacuolar degeneration and necrosis of
the spermatozoa. Similarly, those snails fed with concentrate alone followed the
same trend with those fed with mucuna only. It wasconcluded that MSPcontain
substances that couldaffect spermatozoa formation but support and ova production
in right quantity in giant African land snail (Archachatinamarginata). It was
recommended that MSP be processed to further evaluate its potential for
spermatogenic activities as professed by different authors.