José de la Fuente
Ciudad Real, Spain

The study of ancient cultures may provide insights for modern biomedical advances.^1,2 Uganda, known as the “Pearl of Africa,” is a diverse country with many ethnic groups, including the Baganda or Ganda, Acholi, Iteso, Ankole, and Bugisu.

The Uganda Museum, established in 1908 in the capital Kampala, is the oldest museum in East Africa. Its exhibits teach about ethnology, natural and cultural history, and traditional life, including collections on health and entomology.^3,4 In a section of the health collection, an introduction states, “Among many peoples, disease is attributed to supernatural causes. While domestic remedies suffice for minor ailments, medicine men would deal with serious illnesses.”

One such serious illness was plague: “Necklaces were strung with miniature shields and snail shells known as ‘the bells of Kawumpuli,’ the spirit of plague. The feathered wand was used by a medicine man when consulting Kawumpuli and also when invoking Nabuzana, the spirit concerned with child health and childbirth.”

In the Baganda or Ganda tradition of the largest single ethnic group in central Uganda, the Balubaale were men whose exceptional attributes in life were believed to carry over into death.⁵ Some Balubaale had specific functions including invoking Kawumpuli or Kaumpuli, the god of plague. Plague spirits, or Nosoi, were believed to be connected to many diseases.

The bells of Kawumpuli are strung with miniature shields and snail shells. There is a scientific basis for snails in preventing infectious diseases. Snails, which are diverse mollusks with a global distribution,⁶ produce mucus secretions with antibacterial properties.^7-13 In one recent study,¹⁴ the mucus of the white garden snail (Theba pisana) was found to have antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterococcus faecalis. The main components of snail mucus slime include water, mucin glycoprotein, hyaluronic acid polysaccharide, glycolic acid, and allantoin. Several of these components have been associated with wound healing and antimicrobial activity.^9,13,15,16

Another study found that the shell of the Lanistes varicus snail in Benin also demonstrated antibacterial properties against S. aureus and Klebsiella oxytoca.¹⁷ These results support the use of snail shell bioceramics for tissue engineering^18,19 that could limit the growth of pathogens that cause dental cavities and skin infections.

Other evidence supports better characterization of tick compounds related to snail mucus slime with biomedical properties such as mucin glycoprotein, hyaluronic acid polysaccharide, glycolic acid, and allantoin that may improve the efficacy of interventions for tick control and killing and reduction of risks associated with tick-borne diseases.²⁰

In learning about the Ugandan bells of Kawumpuli, which were used for protection against plague, we gain insight into traditional medicine practices that also have a basis in modern scientific study.

References

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2. De la Fuente J. “Protean art in the multiple disciplinary interaction between artists and scientists.” International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) 9(3): 220-226, 2022. https://doi.org/10.20431/2349-0381.0903022.
3. Jackson C. “The Uganda Museum – Reviewed by Chris Jackson.”The Eye Magazine 2023. https://archive.ph/20130419121934/http:/www.theeye.co.ug/uganda_museum.php; https://archive.ph/38rRV.
4. Briggs P. and Roberts A. “Uganda: The Bradt Travel Guide (9th ed.).” Bradt Travel Guides 2020. Ltd. ISBN: 9781784776428. https://www.bradtguides.com/product/uganda-9/.
5. Musoke D. “Uganda: The Ganda tradition.” 2018. https://combonimissionaries.co.uk/index.php/2018/03/02/uganda-the-ganda-tradition/.
6. Speiser B. “Food and feeding behaviour.” In: The Biology of Terrestrial Mollusks. CABI Wallingford UK. 2001:259-288. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9780851993188.0259.
7. Adikwu MU and Nnamani PO. “Some physiological and toxicological properties of snail mucin extracted from Archachatina marginata.” Bio-Research 3(2):1-6, 2005.
8. Etim L, Aleruchi C, Obande G. “Antibacterial properties of snail mucus on bacteria isolated from patients with wound infection.” Br Microbiol Res J 11(2):1-9, 2016.
9. Cilia G, Fratini F. “Antimicrobial properties of terrestrial snail and slug mucus.” J Complement Integr Med 15(3), 2018.
10. Nantarat N, Tragoolpua Y, Gunama P. “Antibacterial activity of the mucus extract from the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina Fulica) and Golden Apple Snail (Pomacea Canaliculata) against pathogenic bacteria causing skin diseases.” Tropical Natural History 19(2):103-112, 2019.
11. Kenawy ER, Ali SS, Al-Etewy M, Sun J, Wu J, El-Zawawy N. “Synthesis, characterization and biomedical applications of a novel Schiff base on methyl acrylate-functionalized chitosan bearing p-nitrobenzaldehyde groups.” Int J Biol Macromol 122:833-843, 2019.
12. Etengeneng AE, Moh LG, Landry SKA. “The effects of using chemicals to remove slime from African giant land snails flesh during processing on some nutritional and biochemical parameters.” Int J Food Sci 6691609, 2021.
13. Okeniyi FA, Oghenochuko OM, Olawoye SO, Animashahun RA, Adeyonu AG, Akpor OB. “Antimicrobial potentials of mucus mucin from different species of giant African land snails on some typed culture pathogenic bacteria.” Asian J Agric Biol 2022(4):202107294, 2022. https://www.asianjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AJAB-2021-07-294.pdf.
14. Alarfaj K, Almatroudi, A, Alrumaihi, F, et al. “Evaluation of the White Garden Snail (Theba pisana) Mucus Slime for its Efficacy as an Antimicrobial Agent.” Pure Appl Microbiol 18(2):900-906. 2024. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.18.2.03
15. Pagano C, Ceccarini MR, Marinelli A, et al. “Development and characterization of an emulgel based on a snail slime useful for dermatological applications.” Int J Pharm 660:124337, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124337
16. Zhu H, Ao HT, Fu Y, et al. “Optimizing alginate dressings with allantoin and chemical modifiers to promote wound healing.” Int J Biol Macromol 275(Pt 1):133524, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133524
17. Osseni SA, Bonou SAS, Sagbo EV, et al. “Synthesis of calcium phosphate bioceramics based on snail shells: towards a valorization of snail shells from Republic of Benin.” Am J Chem 8(4):90-95, 2018. doi: 10.5923/j.chemistry.20180804.02
18. Mondal S, Bardhan J, Mondal B, et al. “Synthesis, characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity assessment of hydroxyapatite from different bioresources for tissue engineering application.” Bulletin Material Science 35(4):683-691, 2012.
19. Zakaria SM, Sharif SH, Othman MR, Yang F, Jansen JA. “Nanophase hydroxyapatite as a biomaterial in advanced hard tissue engineering: a review.” Tissue Eng Part B-Rev 19: 431-441, 2013.
20. Sonenshine DE, Adams T, Allan SA, McLaughlin J, Webster FX. “Chemical composition of some components of the arrestment pheromone of the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) and their use in tick control”. J Med Entomol 40(6):849-859, 2003.