Behavioral response of Biomphalaria glabrataexposed to a sublethal concentration of Euphorbia miliivar. hislopii latex.

The Euphobia milii var. hislopii latex has been tested in the control of schistosomiasis but its action in the locomotor activity of Biomphalaria glabrata is unknown. The objective of this work was to study the locomotor and reproductive behaviors of B. glabrata exposed to E. milii var. hislopii latex. For this, 96 snails were individually exposed to the latex (LC50 - 0.53 mg / L) for 24 hours. The specimens were submitted to biomonitoring for image analysis to record the locomotor parameters at different times: before exposure (control), one day post exposure (group 1 d-p-e) and 30 days post exposure (group 30 d-p-e). The reproductive parameters were recorded weekly for 10 weeks. All locomotor activities of group 1 d-p-e decreased significantly. The egg/egg mass ratio decreased the week after exposure while there was an increase in the hatching rate. After 30 days, these reproductive parameters were similar to those observed in these same snails before exposure. However, the number of hatched snails declined after exposure until the end of the experiment. The influence of the latex in the parameters of B. glabrata added further evidence that this natural water-soluble product can be an important tool for the control of schistosomiasis.