Evaluation of antitumor activities of different epigeic earthworms

Earthworms have a long association with the medicinal property as the biomolecules/compounds produced bythe earthworms are of pharmacological importance with high potential in the eradication of various diseases withvery low cost. Researchers have proved that earthworms are immune to malignant diseases such as differentkinds of cancers. Hence, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the antitumor activities of differentepigeic earthworms, such as Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia fetida, and Perionyx excavatus. The cytotoxicity assaywas tested through 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay on MichiganCancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells by exposing them at various concentrations (200, 400, 600, 800, and 1,000µg/ml) of different epigeic earthworm powders and standard antitumor chemotherapy drug Cisplatin (15 µg/ml).The percent growth inhibition/percent viability of MCF-7 cells varies with different concentrations of earthwormpowder. The IC50 value was more prominent with E. fetida (113.97 µg/ml), followed by E. eugeniae (825.67 µg/ml) and P. excavatus (1,617.31 µg/ml). Based on the above results, it can be concluded that the tissues of theearthworm, E. fetida, seems to be a very good anticancer agent against MCF-7 cells as compared to other twoearthworm species. Therefore, such studies could be useful in the future for the development of novel therapeuticagents against different types of cancers, further molecular level experimental studies are required to ascertainthe pathways and genes responsible for the anticancer effect, and thereby, we can exploit the beneficial aspectsof various earthworm species in drug delivery research and also in pharmaceutical applications.

Influence of organic wastes and seasonal environmental factors on growth and reproduction of Eisenia fetida.

Epigeic earthworms (E. fetida) were cultured on variety of organic wastes amended with cattle manure to determine the influence of diets and the seasonal environmental factors on growth and reproduction. The results showed that growth and reproductive strategies of E. fetida varied with different diets and seasons. Growth and reproduction of worms in all wastes were significantly more in winter and monsoon than in summer season. Hence winter and monsoon seasons could be considered congenial for vermiculture. During all seasons, worm activities were more in cattle manure followed by amended Bengal gram grain husk and Mixed Organic waste by E. fetida. Parthenin containing diet had deleterious effects on cocoon production.