Identification of compounds with regenerative effects in the mucus of the garden snail <i>Cornu aspersum</i>

Snail mucus is a complex multicomponent mixture of proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, enzymes, hyaluronic acid, proteins, antimicrobial peptides, amino acids and metal ions. This study presents the chemical and mineral composition of mucus from the garden snail Cornu aspersum and the effectiveness of its active components on wound healing. Three samples of the mucus of the garden snail C. aspersum were analyzed: native mucus (P1), a fraction with active components with a molecular weight (MW) above 30 kDa (P2) and a MW above 10 kDa (P3). Studies with an amino acid analyser, gas chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis indicate that the snail secretion contains a significant amount of minerals and bioactive organic compounds. The cytotoxicity of the extracts on the viability of skin fibroblasts (BJ) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) was also evaluated. The presence of important peptides and proteins, such as achacin, collagen, elastin, hemocyanin, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, etc., with proven healing properties, has been proven. The results showed that P1, P2 and P3 were non-toxic to normal human dermal cells at the concentrations analysed and stimulated the proliferation of BJ and HaCaT cells. Treatment of BJ cells with fraction P3 at a concentration of 120 µg/mL leads to a 40% increase in proliferation and showed the strongest stimulating effect on the synthesis of membrane-associated collagen, which was 33% higher in BJ cells compared to control cells. The results confirmed that the mucus of the garden snail C. aspersum contains active components with proven effectiveness on wound healing.