HISTOPATHOLOGIC STUDY AND NEW NATURAL THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS OF BLASTOCYSTIS INTESTINAL INFECTION
Mahmoud Tag1, Faiza Osman2, Soheir Atef2, Maysia Shalaby3, Ibraheim Rabee3, Zeinab Fahmy3, and Marwa Esmat4
Department Pathology Faculty of medicine Misr University For Science and Technology1
Department Parasitology Faculty of medicine for Girls AL-Azhar University2
Department Parasitology Theodor Bilharz Research Institute3
Department Parasitology Faculty of medicine Misr University For Science and Technology4
Background: Blastocystis is a common enteric protozoan with unclear pathogenicity. It is implicated in different human diseases. Metronidazole is the current and classic treatment of Blastocystis infection. This study is carried out to clarify the histopathologic effects Blastocystis infection and to evaluate the treatment outcome of Beta vulgaris (Beetroot) and Cucurbita pepo (Pumpkin) as new natural therapeutic options. Total number of 200 laboratory bred, female Swiss Albino mice were included in this study. One hundred eighty mice were orally inoculated with Blastocystis in a dose of 10,000 Blastocystis cyst/mouse. The remaining 20 mice were considered as the healthy negative control group. The protozoan was isolated from stool specimen collected from diarrheic patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Infection is guaranteed by finding Blastocystis vacuolar form in the mice stool 3weeks post infection. Treatment regimens started after the three weeks and the animals were classified into ten groups according to the treatment regimen of metronidazole (MTZ), Beta vulgaris or Cucurbita pepo extracts and dexamethasone. All groups were sacrificed 7 weeks post infection. Collected intestinal tissues were subjected to histopathologic study. Results: The pathologic effects of Blastocystis are directed to absorptive villi of small intestine and are probably due to secretion of proteases enzymes. Blastocystis affects small intestinal villi with liquefactive necrosis and loss of histologic details. The protozoan was detected mainly in the core of the infected villi. Large intestinal tissues were normal in all examined groups. Beta vulgaris and Cucurbita pepo extracts were found to have a considerable therapeutic effect on Blastocystis in experimentally infected mice. Treatment by full dose of MTZ or Beta vulgaris greatly reduced the number of the parasite and caused equal decline in degree of liquefactive necrosis. Cucurbita pepo treatment caused much less improvement. Mixed treatment by either Beta vulgaris or Cucurbita pepo extracts with half dose MTZ recorded better results than single therapy of each of them. Treatment with Beta vulgaris and Cucurbita pepo induce intestinal lymphoid hyperplasia which is more prominent with Beta vulgaris. Dexamethasone weakens or stops the therapeutic effects and lymphoid reaction with Beta vulgaris and Cucurbita pepo respectively.
December 2018