The Anterior Salivary Gland of Octopus vulgaris Secret Protein and does not Secrete the Mucus, from the Red Sea, Egypt.

The cephalopods in the Red Sea are active predators of animals, they capture their prey from open water. Because they are fast-swimming animals, they have some modifications in their bodies, such as a fusiform shape and fast swimming, and they transform into the water column by a special structure known as a siphon. Octopus vulgaris is one member of the Cephalopoda present in the Red Sea and has special characteristics, such as the high activity of predators for its prey, such as crustaceans and small fishes. Octopus vulgaris has a special variety of defense systems such as the ink gland, posterior salivary gland, which secretes the protein, and anterior salivary gland, which is the aim of the present study. The anterior salivary gland in Octopus vulgaris is a member of the digestive system, and has a role in protein secretion, not secreting mucus as believed until now. The anterior salivary gland in Octopus has bioactive components that are very important in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications such as anticoagulant, anesthetic, and hypotensive activities. Histochemical studies of sections of the anterior salivary gland of Octopus vulgaris show the presence of three types of secretion cells in this gland, all secreting the pure Octopoda saliva and its protein secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]