Chemical Composition of Earthworm ( Rosa) Biomass Is Suitable as an Alternative Protein Source.

The selected chemical composition (dry matter, ash, total protein, and crude fat) of the integumentary muscles of were determined, plus the dry matter (DM) percentage content of 17 amino acids and the profile (%) of fatty acids. Results were compared with a more fully studied earthworm, . In addition, the composition of exogenous amino acids was compared to the WHO standard for pork, beef, and chicken eggs.

Aspects of the ecology of the earthworm Eisenia lucens (Waga 1857) studied in the field and in laboratory culture.

This work relates data from field sampling of Eisenia lucens and from laboratory-based culture. Field sampling used soil sorting and vermifuge extraction and took place in beech-dominated forests of southwest Poland. Initial work derived population estimates from four sub-communities of the forest looking for seasonal dynamics and later work employed targeted sampling in summer within rotting wood to obtain live specimens for laboratory culture.

Effects of anesthetic compounds on responses of earthworms to electrostimulation.

Earthworms play an important role in biomedical research, and some surgical procedures require anesthesia. Anesthetic treatments used so far usually induce convulsive body movements connected with extrusion of coelomocyte-containing coelomic fluid that may affect experimental results. Extensive movements connected with the expulsion of coelomic fluid are exploited by immunologists as a method of harvesting immunocompetent coelomocytes from worms subjected to mild electrostimulation (4.