Toxicology of a potential molluscicide derived from the plant Solanum xanthocarpum: a preliminary study

Abstract A potential molluscicidal extract, obtained from the indigenous Chinese plant Solanum xanthocarpum (Schrad. and Wendl), was tested for toxicity against snails and fish in static, acute-toxicity tests. The extract had a significant effect on mature and young snails of the amphibious Asian freshwater prosobranch Oncomelania hupensis (Gredler) and also on mature specimens of the freshwater pulmonate snails Biomphalaria glabrata (Say) and Lymnaea stagnalis (Linnaeus). The minimum dose that produced 100% mortality of snails exposed for 48h, 4.321mg/litre, is much less than the threshold, of 100mg/litre, set for a potential molluscicide by the World Health Organization. In contrast, the minimum concentration producing 100% mortality in the fish Gobiocypris rarus (Ye and Fu) was 17.28mg/litre. The extract also limited the extent of water-leaving by snails exposed to it, an important feature for the control of amphibious snails. This extract thus represents a promising plant-derived molluscicide which is worthy of further investigation.