Comparison of Allergenic Proteins of Sea Snail (Cerithidea Obtusa) and Freshwater Snail (Pomacea Canaliculata)

Abstract

In Malaysian and certain Asian countries, snail has high market demand and popular to the local people as food. However, snail is also frequently reported as one of the worst food allergens, dominated by severe symptoms such as asthma and anaphylactic shock. Thus, the aims of this study is to determine the allergenicity of two species of edible snails; the local sea snail, Cerithidea obtusa and the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata. Snail extracts were prepared from the snail flesh and analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to determine their protein profiling. Allergenic proteins were detected by immunoblotting test using sera from 10 snail-allergic patients. The snails contain 31 to 34 protein fractions between 11 to >250 kDa. The prominent bands were seen at 33, 42, 74 and 250 kDa. Immunoblotting detected 15 and 16 allergenic proteins in C. obtusa and P. canaliculata, respectively. Three protein fractions at 30, 33 and 42 kDa were identified as the major allergens of C. obtusa, while six major allergens at 30, 33, 42, 74, 124 and 218 kDa were detected in P. canaliculata. Various minor allergens were also detected in both snails. This study indicated that numerous proteins of C. obtusa and P. canaliculata were allergenic. Thus, combined allergen extracts of both snails are essential to be included in diagnosis of snail allergy among local allergic patients.

Identification of major and cross‐reactive allergens of local freshwater snail (Pila polita) and the impact of thermal and non‐thermal food processing on allergen stability

“…This result also matched with the molecular mass of limpet, an aquatic snail found along seashores, with a wide molecular weight range of 15–250 kDa 5 . Our previous studies 11,12 also found almost similar results on fractionation of a protein mixture complex in the raw extract of C. obtusa , which expressed multiple protein bands between 12 and 250 kDa.…”

“…Allergenic proteins in raw and all processed snail extracts were determined by immunoblotting tests as explained previously 11 . In brief, protein bands after SDS‐PAGE were electrophoretically transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane.…”

“…To date, the major snail allergen from several species of snails such as Helix aspersa , 4,7 Helix terrestre , 8 Turbo cornutus , 9 Cerithidea obtusa , 10‐12 and Pomacea canaliculata 12 is tropomyosin, a 34–38 kDa muscle protein with isoelectric point (pI) 4.5 that forms myofibrils in muscle tissues 3 . This protein has also been identified as a pan‐allergen that is responsible for immunoglobulin E (IgE) cross‐reactivities among invertebrates, particularly crustaceans and molluscs, due to high protein sequence homology 1,5,7,13,14 .…”

SUSTAINABILITY OF SUCKING SNAIL (Cerithidea obtusa) IN TANAH MERAH, INDRAGIRI HILIR REGENCY, RIAU PROVINCE BASED ON ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS

“…In the Asian region, especially Southeast Asia, the Suction Snail (Cerithidea obtusa) is processed into delicious food and as a raw material for medicines. In Indonesia, the sucking snail (Cerithidea obtusa) is used as a traditional medicine to treat several diseases including fever, sores and itching (Misnan et al, 2016) (Kamaruddin et al, 2017) (Natalia et al, 2022). Suction snail (Cerithidea obtusa) besides being consumed by the public, it is also sold in the market because it has a fairly high price.…”

“…At the Muara Angke fish market, the stock of this species is rare and must compete with buyers who send it to Taiwan or Singapore (Purwaningsih, 2012). Likewise in Malaysia, Cerithidea obtusa has a high market demand and is popular among the local population (Misnan et al, 2016) (Chaterine Yolandika, 2022) (Nuni Anggraini, Yolandika, et al, 2022) (Utoyo et al, 2018)(Clara Yolandika et al, 2021. In Tanah Merah Sub-district, apart from being sold in local or regional markets, in January 2019 the Suction Snail (Cerithidea obtusa) was officially exported to Malaysia as much as 12.5 tons).…”