Biochemical Characterization of Biomphalaria arabica , the Molluscan Intermediate Host for Schistosomes in Saudi Arabia

Schistosomiasis is the most important human helminth infection in terms of morbidity and mortality. The present study provides a comparative analysis on Biomphalaria arabica, the intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni from two different areas having different prevalence level of Schistosomiasis in Saudi Arabia. B. arabica snails were collected from Riyadh and Hofuf district, and the levels of various enzymes like aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (AST, ALT), Lactate dehydrogenate (LDH), acid and alkaline phosphatase (ACP,ALP), α amylase and lipases were measured in the tissue homogenate of snails, to confirm the relationship between the biochemical and endemic of the disease. Also amino acid profile of B. arabica was determined using amino acid analyzer. The result showed higher levels of AST and LDH in the sample of B. arabica from Hofuf as compared to Riyadh while ALT, ACP, ALK, α amylase and lipase enzymes were found lower in samples from Hofuf as compare to Riyadh. The amino acid profile shows that Riyadh samples have remarkably higher levels of most of the measured amino acids. The present study confirms that biochemical profile of B. arabica is critically important for the success of schistosome life cycle and that snail host definitely plays a part in prevalence of the disease.