LAUSR

BACKGROUND The land snail, Theba pisana is one of the most important threats facing agriculture around the globe. Boric acid (BOA) is currently used as a safe alternative molluscicide to control land snails in sustainable agriculture, but the mechanisms of toxicity have not yet been investigated. The present study is a pioneering attempt on lethal and sub-lethal (0.5 and 1 mg g-1 ) toxic effects of BOA-contaminated food for 14 days by examining physiological, biochemical, and histopathological indicators in T. pisana to understand the mechanisms underlying its toxic action. RESULTS BOA was found to be lethal against T. pisana with LC50 values of 24.7 and 8.05 mg g-1 after 3 and 7 days' exposure, respectively. BOA sub-lethal concentrations led to a significant reduction in food consumption and growth of snails after 14 days of exposure. It also caused a significant increase in testosterone levels, whereas an opposite effect was observed in estradiol levels. An increase in progesterone levels in 0.5 mg g-1 BOA group and a decrease in 1 mg g-1 BOA snails were observed after all times of exposure. Moreover, lipid peroxidation level and catalase activity were elevated, whereas acetylcholinesterase activity was inhibited in the treated snails. Alteration in glutathione-s-transferase activity was noticed after exposure to both sub-lethal concentrations. In addition, BOA induced histopathological alterations in the digestive gland of T. pisana. CONCLUSION Our findings provide novel insights into how physiological, biochemical and histopathological alterations can be used to explore the mechanisms underlying BOA toxicity against snails. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.