TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SNAIL MUCINS BIOPOLYMER FOR POSSIBLE BIOMEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The safety of mucin being a new entrance as drug carrier and cosmetic adjuvant needs to be evaluated for its biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. The present study investigated the toxicological effect of the extracted snail mucin on the biochemical and hematological parameters in an animal model. The snail mucin was extracted using organic and aqueous solvents, and was evaluated based on physical parameters like pH, taste and odor. The safety of snail mucin after oral administration was evaluated for any changes in biochemical and hematological indices. There were no obvious changes in the physical, hematological and liver enzyme evaluated after dosing the animal with mucin suspension. Taken together, oral administration of various extracts of snail mucin shows no toxicity to any of the parameters evaluated. Overall, the foregoing results suggest that the extracted snail mucin is a potentially safe and promising approach for biomedical and pharmaceutical application.