The Efficacy of Some Detergents on Some Intestinal Parasites and Their Histopathological Effects

Abstract

Detergents or surfactant are chemical substances that used for cleaning purposes. The chemical compositions of the detergents are varying greatly according to application demands and commercial competitive. The aim of the present study was to, investigate the effect of common substances, used by people in our area for cleaning vegetables and fruits. On killing some parasitic stages and also studying their histopathological effects on mice intestine. Four types of ordinary commercial detergents were used (Altunsa, Bonux, Ariel , ABC) at concentrations of 1.5, 3, 4.5 g\l against E. hitolytica, E. coli, G. lamblia cysts and H. nana eggs. The parasitic stages were incubated with the detergents used for 2, 5, 15, 30 minutes. In order to detect the efficacy of the detergents the  incubated stages were administered to laboratory mice. Histological sections of mice intestinal parts were done to find out the histopathological effect of the detergents. The detergents varied in their actions on tested parasitic stages, the most effective was Ariel and ABC type followed by Bonux. The lowest efficacy was for Altunsa type. Incubating the parasitic stages with the detergent for 2 minutes had no impact with some detergents, while 5 minutes was enough for killing the stages with all detergents. The histopathological examination of intestinal parts had not revealed any dimorphty or changes comparing to the control group except in that leaved for more than 5 minutes. The conclusion is that some detergents can be used for cleaning vegetables, killing and removing parasitic stages. Detergents do not cause histopathological effects if its residues removed thoroughly and not leaved on vegetables for long period of time.