title: Carbohydrate reserves and hemolymph sugars of the African giant snail, Achatina fulica in relation to parasitic infection and starvation.
abstract: In the snail, Achatina fulica, parasitized by the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, levels of carbohydrate in hemolymph and digestive glands were determined. The normal level of hemolymph glucose of 11.7 mg% dropped to 4.25 mg% in the infected snails, a significant difference after only one week of infection. The level of total reducing sugar in the hemolymph also decreased significantly (12.3 mg% to 3.6 mg%) in this period. Later on, the snails were capable of adapting themselves to the parasitic infection and the concentration of hemolymph sugars returned to the normal range. Starvation caused a decrease in the carbohydrate reserves of the digestive gland only when the starved snails had been previously infected.
mesh_terms: D000801:Angiostrongylus / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000032:analysis; D008681:Metastrongyloidea / Q000254:growth & development*; D012908:Snails / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology*; D013217:Starvation
chemical_list: D006003:Glycogen; D005947:Glucose