HPTLC Determination of Amino Acids in Snail-Conditioned Water From Biomphalaria glabrata, Two Strains of Helisoma trivolvis, and Lymnaea elodes

Abstract

High performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) was used to analyze amino acids in water conditioned by Biomphalaria glabrata, a Pennsylvania and Colorado strain of Helisoma trivolvis, and Lymnaea elodes. The snail-conditioned water (SCW) samples were dried with air and reconstituted in 10% n-propanol and then applied to cellulose HPTLC plates and developed with n-propanol-water (7:3). Amino acids were detected with ninhydrin reagent and the resulting colored sample zones were compared to known standards. The amino acids present in SCW were identified as alanine, aspartic acid, leucine, phenylalanine, serine, tryptophan, and valine along with one unidentified ninhydrin positive zone. The valine zone was quantified by densitometric scanning at 610 nm, and the concentrations ranged from 1.3-2.6 μg mL⁻¹ snail⁻¹ in the SCW for all four strains of snails. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of valine in water conditioned by the four strains of snails based on Student's t-test.