Apoptotic and histopathological impacts of Moringa oleifera seed oil on the land snail Cornu aspersum (O. F. Müller, 1774)

Cornu aspersum (O. F. Müller, 1774) is among the most harmful pests for many crops. Using natural molluscicides is essential to reduce the adverse effects of chemical ones on the biosystem. The toxicity of Moringa oleifera seed oil was determined, and LC50 and LC90 were 20.06% and 29.5%, respectively, after 72 hr of exposure. Moringa oil diminished the survival rate of Cornu aspersum (O. F. Müller, 1774) by 50% compared to the control (98.6%). Moreover, Moringa oil significantly increased the apoptosis and necrosis of digestive and ovotestis gland cells (P ≤ 0.02). By the end of the experiment, the proportion of apoptotic cells rose dramatically to 62.6% and 50.3% in the digestive and ovotestis glands, respectively, compared to the control (10.8% and 12.3%). In addition, the percentage of necrotic cells significantly increased to 21.5% and 24.7% (P ≤ 0.05), while the control values were 5.6% and 4.5%, respectively, at the 8% concentration. Regarding the digestive gland, Moringa oil caused vacuolation, nuclear pyknosis, and haemocyte infiltration. Deficiency of mature ova and spermatozoa, fibrosis, degeneration, and necrosis were recorded in the ovotestis. Moringa oil has proved its effectiveness as a natural molluscicide