Anesthesia of Biomphalaria spp. (Mollusca, Gastropoda): Sodium Pentobarbital is the Drug of Choice

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2001, Volume 96, Number 3, pp. 391-392 Anesthesia of Biomphalaria spp. (Mollusca, Gastropoda): Sodium Pentobarbital is the Drug of Choice RL Martins-Sousa, D Negro-Corra, FSM Bezerra*, PMZ Coelho Code Number: oc01059 ABSTRACT: The anesthetic effect of some water-soluble anesthesic or narcotic drugs currently used in mice was tested in molluscs of the Biomphalaria genus. Sodium thiopental was very toxic to the snails resulting in high rates of mortality in all the treatment schedules tested. Cetamine base, at concentration of 0.25 mg/ml of water, resulted in partial snail anesthesia (40% of snails were anesthetized) only after 20 h of exposition. The association of Cetamine base with Tiazine chloridrate did not improve the anesthesic effect, and higher concentrations of these drugs were toxic to the snails. Sodium pentobarbital at 0.4 mg/ml in water for 8 h was the best treatment schedule to anesthetize Biomphalaria snails. In this schedule, the snails were anesthetized without any toxic effect. The procedure provides a powerful tool for in vivo studies that demande a complete state of snail anesthesia. KEYWORDS: sodium pentobarbital, Biomphalaria, anesthesia, mollusc inoculation Copyright 2001 Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz Fiocru