# Evaluation of Biological Properties and Beneficial Effects for a Sustainable and Conscious Exploitation of Achatina fulica Snails

## TL;DR

This review explores the dual nature of the invasive Achatina fulica snail, highlighting its environmental risks and potential economic benefits from its mucus and shells.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of both the threats and opportunities associated with Achatina fulica for sustainable exploitation.

## Key findings

- Achatina fulica mucus shows antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties.
- The snail's calcium-rich shells have applications in biotechnology and construction.
- Snail farming can provide sustainable income in tropical regions.

## Abstract

The invasive giant African land snail, Achatina fulica, poses significant environmental and health risks due to its rapid spread and role as a host for harmful parasites. However, this species also presents interesting economic and scientific opportunities. Its mucus has shown potential for wound healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer applications, while its calcium-rich shells can be used in biotechnology, construction, and even biofuel production. Snail farming offers a sustainable income source in tropical regions due to the snail’s high nutritional value. This review highlights both the threats and benefits associated with A. fulica, suggesting that proper management could transform an ecological challenge into an economic asset, fostering sustainable development and innovation across multiple industries.

In recent decades, there has been significant worldwide interest in the emergence of a new invasive species known as Achatina fulica. This is due to its dangerous habits for the environment, its biological characteristics and the fact that it is the intermediate host of several nematode parasites, such as Angiostrongylus cantonensis. This land snail species is native to tropical African countries, but has been introduced, accidentally or deliberately, to other parts of the world to be used for different purposes and is now established in a large part of the tropics. Since the 1980s, hundreds of researchers have been interested in the beneficial properties of its mucus, ranging from the antimicrobial and anticancer properties to the use of its powdered shell as a biocatalyst. This literature review aims to objectively describe the positive and negative aspects associated with the spread of A. fulica, highlighting in particular the opportunities for the local populations deriving from a conscious exploitation of this mollusc.