Effects (in vivo) of the nutritional potential of snail Limicolaria flammea (Müller) meat on wistar rats

Development of new animal protein sources contributes to the fight against protein deficiencies in diets of populations in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was investigated to assess the impact of snail flesh (Limicolaria flammea) diet on biochemical and zootechnical parameters of young wistar rats. Thus, three diets (RTC, ESC and RPP) were made and submitted to these rats for 15 days. The biochemical analysis of snail flesh (Limicolaria flammea) powder having served as a protein source (46.65±0.05%) is also rich in ash (6.23±0.01%), calcium (1654.54±0.06 mg/100g), potassium (1324.54±4.18 mg/100g) and sodium (668.69±1.13 mg/100g). The results showed that the constituted diets had a significant impact on the rats weight compared to the control diet (RTC) with an average daily variation of +2.08 g/J (RTC); 1.68 g/J (ESC) and - 0.69 g/J (RPP) with respective final weights at the end of the experiment of 68.12±1g; 68.12±1g and 45.3±1g. Furthermore, the ESC diet had no negative impact on the weight of vital organs. The organs weights such as the heart (0.52±0.04g), liver (3.19±0.96g), spleen (0.28±0.03g), kidneys (0.80±0.04g) and abdominal fat (0.85±0.08g) of fed rats on the diet (ESC) showed no significant difference (p <0.05) with those of rats fed the control diet (BTI).