Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche ''Togo Rosati''

Authors Pagano C, Ceccarini M R, Marinelli A, Imbriano A, Beccari T, Primavilla S, Valiani A, Ricci M, Perioli L

Abstract Snail slime is an interesting material for effective dermatological use (e.g. wounds). Its properties are strictly connected to the origin. In this paper a snail slime, deriving from the species Helix aspersa Muller and obtained from a company, was deeply characterized and then properly formulated. The slime, obtained by Donatella Veroni method, was firstly submitted to NMR analysis in order to evaluate the chemical composition. The main molecules found are glycolate and allantoin, well known for their activities in wound healing promotion. In vitro experiments performed on keratinocytes, revealed the snail slime ability to promote cellular well-being. Moreover, the microbiological analysis showed high activity against many strains involved in wounds infections such as gram+ (e.g. S. aureus, S. pyogenes), gram- (e.g. P. aeruginosa, E. coli) and the yeast C. albicans. The effect on skin elasticity was evaluated as well by the instrument Cutometer® dualMPA580. The snail slime was then formulated as hydrophilic gel, using a combination of corn starch and sodium hyaluronate as polymers, then used as external water phase of an O/W emulgel. The formulation is physically stable and easily spreadable and demonstrated antimicrobial activity as observed for slime alone, suggesting its suitability to be used for wound treatment.

Publish Date 2024

Volume 660

ISSN 0378-5173

DOI doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124337

URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517324005714?via%3Dihub

Journal  International Journal of Pharmaceutics

Pages art. n. 124337

PMID 38885774