THE VARIED ROLES OF SNAILS - National Universities Commission

acteria. This bacteriostatic activity is of value against a
variety of ailments, including whooping cough.
In Ghana the bluish liquid obtained from the shell of the
tiger snail when the meat has been removed is believed to
be good for infants’ development. The high iron and
vitamin contents are considered important in the treatment
of anaemia. At the imperial courts of Rome it was reported
that snail meat has aphrodisiac property and was often
saved to visiting dignitaries in late evenings.
(d) SNAILS AND AGRICULTURE
In aquaculture (controlled raising of animals in water) the
primary goal is to produce more foods. This type of
agriculture, improves the quality of the organisms and their
productivity. The main animals used in aquaculture are
fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Among the molluscs the
viable forms are mussels, oysters, clams and prosobranchs
(e.g. Pilidae, Ampullaridae and Neritidae).
Available data suggest that over 12 million tonnes of meat
are derived from aquaculture every year and 17.0% of these
are molluscs. The rest comprise of sea weeds, algae,
crustacean and fish. The most likely species of snails that
will benefit from increased deployment in aquaculture are
Pila wernei (Philippi), Lanistes varicus, Ampullarium sp,
Lanistes ovum, Pila ovata and other groups are locally
classified in Igbo land as ”akpakolo”. These are all
freshwater Prosobranchs. About 34 developing countries
and all developed economies have the potentials and infact,
have started deploying aquaculture for increased animal
and aquatic plants production. The need for finding
employment of the teeming populations of youths world
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