Some snails (Achatina spp) can be used as a biosensor of heavy metal poisoning. This study thus estimated some heavy metal levels, antioxidant markers, and lipid profiles of snails handpicked around cement factory vicinities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Snails and soil samples were collected from Oke, Ewekoro, Papalanto, and Mowodani Imeko-Afon (control site). Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) levels were estimated in the soil, snail foot, hemolymph, and shell using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Triacylglycerol (TAG), phospholipids (PHOL), cholesterol (CHOL), malondialdehyde (MDA), and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, as well as glutathione-S-transferase (GST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and arylesterase (AR) activities in the hemolymph, were estimated spectrophotometrically. The snails collected from the Oke site had the highest foot Pb (274.66 ± 13.50 mg/g tissue), CHOL, TAG, PHOL levels, and GST activity when compared with other sites. Snails collected from Papa had the highest Cd levels (1.79 ± 0.74 mg/kg), As (1206 ± 18.87 mg/g tissue) in the foot, and LDH activity, while Ewekoro snails had highest MDA levels and AR activities but the lowest GSH levels. Additionally, there were negative correlations between the heavy metal levels and the activities of GST and AR as well as GSH levels, while positively correlating with LDH activity and MDA level. Workers and the general public around cement factories are at a greater risk of heavy metal-induced pathologies. More so, consumption of snails around these sites may be deleterious to health.
Keywords: Achatina achatina; Heavy metals; antioxidant; biosensor; hemolymph; lipid profiles.