Establishing a protocol for water sample processing for the detection of Blastocystis sp

Molecular analysis of Blastocystis sp. and its subtypes from treated wastewater routinely used for irrigation of vegetable farmlands in Iran

Treated wastewater samples were collected, filtered using sterile 47-mm cellulose nitrate membrane and DNA extracted from the filtered materials. The presence of Blastocystis sp. was confirmed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the SSU rRNA gene of Blastocystis sp. in 5/12 of samples. Based on the subtype analysis after sequencing, 2, 2 and 1 of ST2, ST6 and ST8 were detected among the isolates, respectively. Furthermore, both ST6s were allele 139, alleles 11 and 138 were identified in ST2 and the only ST8 was allele 95. The phylogenetic tree showed that one of ST2 was clustered together with those ST2 that were already reported from humans and animals. The presence of Blastocystis sp. in treated wastewater can indicate the potential role of this type of water for irrigation in the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to downstream farmlands.

Anti-Blastocystis Activity In Vitro of Egyptian Herbal Extracts (Family: Asteraceae) with Emphasis on Artemisia judaica

Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.) Sch. Bip. (known as Qaysoom), Echinops spinosus L. (known as Shoak Elgamal) and Artemisia judaica L.(known Shih Baladi) are members of the Asteraceae family known for their traditional medical use in Egypt. The ethanol extracts of these plants were evaluated for their efficacy against a protozoan parasite (Blastocystis). Two different molecular subtypes of Blastocystis were used (ST1 and ST3). Significant growth inhibition of Blastocystis was observed when exposed to both A. judaica (99.3%) and A. fragrantissima (95.6%) with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC₉₀) at 2000 µg/mL. Under the effect of the extracts, changes in Blastocystis morphology were noted, with the complete destruction of Blastocystis forms after 72 h with the dose of 4000 µg/mL. Different subtypes displayed different responses to the herbal extracts tested. ST1 exhibited significantly different responses to the herbal extracts compared to ST3. A. judaica was selected as the herb of choice considering all of its variables and because of its effective action against Blastocystis. It was then exposed to further fractionation and observation of its effect on ST1 and ST3. Solvent portioned fractions (dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and n-hexane) in A. judaica were found to be the potent active fractions against both of the Blastocystis subtypes used.