Bioconversion of industrial wastes into nutrient rich product using earthworms is of double interest: on the one hand, a waste is converted into organic fertilizer for soil application and on the other, it controls accumulation of harmful waste that is a consequence of growing industrialization. This study reports the feasibility of utilization of vermicomposting technology for nutrient recover...

Earthworm fibrinolytic enzyme component A, a protein which functions both as a direct fibrinolytic enzyme and a plasminogen activator, was purified from the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Diffraction-quality single crystals of the protein were grown by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique with ammonium sulfate as a precipitant. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1)...

Some protein pharmaceuticals from Chinese medicine have been developed to treat cardiovascular diseases, genetic diseases, and cancer. Bioactive proteins with various pharmacological properties have been successfully isolated from animals such as Hirudo medicinalis (medicinal leech), Eisenia fetida (earthworm), and Mesobuthus martensii (Chinese scorpion), and from herbal medicines derived from ...

Although the toxicity of metal contaminated soils has been assessed with various bioassays, more information is needed about the biochemical responses, which may help to elucidate the mechanisms involved in metal toxicity. We previously reported that the earthworm, Eisenia fetida, accumulates cadmium in its seminal vesicles. The bio-accumulative ability of earthworms is well known, and thus the...

A comparative study was conducted between exotic and local (epigeic--Eisenia fetida and anaecic--Lempito mauritii, respectively) species of earthworms for the evaluation of their efficacy in vermicomposting of municipal solid waste (MSW). Vermicomposting of MSW for 42 days resulted in significant difference between the two species in their performance measured as loss in total organic carbon, c...

Coelomocytes were extruded from three earthworm species: Lumbricus terrestris, Eisenia fetida and Octolasion tyrtaeum. Featuring a simple low-vacuum holding device, the proposed methodology allows the recovery of cells with minimum risk of contamination by faecal material. The viability of O. tyrtaeum coelomocytes was highly reproducible (average 93%), with an average yield of 0.92 x 10(6) viab...