Nutritional and toxicity profiles of two species of land snail, Theba pisana and Otala lactea, from Morocco

Nutritional profile of the land snail Cyclophorus saturnus, a rich-in-nutrients food item from Thailand

“…The macro mineral compositions on a fresh and dry matter basis and the EDIs of Ca, P, and Mg are presented in Table 2 . Among all the minerals measured, Ca was the most abundant in C. saturnus meat, (865 mg/100 g DM or 172.65 mg/100 g FM); these results agree with the findings of earlier studies on the major elements in other land snail species [ 5 ]. Nkansah et al [ 6 ] also reported the content of Ca, the most plentiful mineral, in the meat of three snail species from Ghana, A. marginata (701.79 mg/100 g DM), A. achatina (656.9 mg/100 g DM), and A. fulica (402.09 mg/100 g DM), while Kalio and Etela [ 35 ] reported values in the range of 144–175 mg/100 g FM in A. marginata .…”

“…This value was slightly lower than the content of total carbohydrate reported by Babalola and Akinsoyinu [ 26 ] (6.91% FM) for Limicolaria sp., a land snail obtained from a natural area in Oyo state, Nigeria. Caetano et al [ 5 ] demonstrated that snails contained a variety of carbohydrate types, including monomers like glucose and reserve polysaccharides, primarily glycogen. Different values of total carbohydrate, estimated indirectly, were observed for different land snail species.…”

“…However, very low values of total carbohydrates were also reported by Fagbuaro et al [ 34 ], with less than 1% FM for several land snail species including A. marginata ovum, A. marginata saturalis, Achatina , and Limicolaria spp. Variation in the amount of total carbohydrate in land snails could be related to several factors including the snail's species, diet, and location [ 5 ].…”

“…According to estimates, 43,000 tons of snails were consumed globally in 2016, and 50,000 tons are expected to be consumed by the end of 2025 [ 3 ]. Snail meat has been reported to be rich in protein and have a low fat and cholesterol content that make it meet the demands of modern nutrition [ [4] , [5] , [6] ]. It has also been reported that snail meat is a valuable source of essential fatty acids, amino acids, and minerals [ 4 , 7 ].…”

“…As an alternative protein source for human beings, the nutritional potential of edible snails has recently received more attention. Some reports are available on the nutritional value of different species of land snails such as Helix pomatia [ 7 , 14 ], Cornu aspersum , Eobania vermiculata [ 4 ], Theba pisana [ 5 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, no data are available on the nutritional properties of C. saturnus .…”