Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis it was possible to determine simultaneously the concentration of organic acids (pyruvate, lactate, succinate, fumarate, malate, acetate, propionate, acetoacetate, and ß-hydroxybutyrate) in the digestive gland and the extracellular concentration of these same acids in the hemolymph of estivating Biomphalaria glabrata, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. After a 7 day period of estivation, there was a significant increase in the tissue levels of lactate, succinate, malate and acetate compared to non-estivating snails. After 14 days of estivation, the levels of lactate and acetate were also significantly elevated. The hemolymph concentrations of pyruvate and acetate increased significantly after 7 days and acetate concentrations continued to be significantly increased up to 14 days of estivation. The other organic acids studied, such as ketone body acetoacetate and ß-hydroxybutyrate or the volatile acid propionate, did not accumulate. Their tissue concentrations, however, increased on the 7th day of estivation and reached normal levels within two weeks of estivation for some of them. One should take into consideration how the reduction in metabolism can be handled under aerobic conditions, and what role anaerobic pathways may play in both energy formation and redox balance processes.
Biomphalaria glabrata; estivation; high performance liquid chromatography; organic acid; Schistosoma mansoni