Abstract
Background: Healthy diets including fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of chronic diseases. This study was aimed at detecting parasitic contamination caused by consuming raw vegetables sold in Hamadan, west of Iran. Methods: A total of 380 vegetable samples consisting of parsley, coriander, basil, savory, mint, cress, tarragon, leek, radish and spring onion were evaluated microscopically after conducting sedimentation and flotation from April 2017 to March 2018. Results: Parasites were detected in 95 out of 380 of vegetable samples (25%). The organisms identified included Entamoeba coli (8.15%), Ascaris lumbricoides (7.1%), Chilomastix mesnili (5%), and Giardia lamblia (1.5%), Blastocystis hominis (0.78%), Toxocara canis (0.26%) and Hymenolepis nana (0.26%). High level of contamination was obtained for parsley (5.52%) while radish was the least contaminated (0.78%). Vegetable contamination was higher in spring and summer (20.6%) (P<0.0001). Samples collected from vegetable fields irrigated by well water supply showed low parasitic contamination (28.5%) compared to those from farms irrigated by surface or sewage water (91%) (P<0.0001). Conclusions: The results emphasize the potential role of raw vegetables consumption in transmission of pathogenic organisms. Besides, it was highlighted that irrigation of vegetables by surface water could be the source of vegetable contamination with human intestinal parasites.
Highlights
Healthy diets including fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of chronic diseases
The most prevalent parasite was Entamoeba coli that was detected in 8.15% of samples, followed by Ascaris lumbricoides and Chilomastix mesnili
The results showed that 14.47% of protozoan cysts and 1.8% of worm eggs were identified in vegetables collected in spring and summer
Summary
Healthy diets including fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of chronic diseases. This study was aimed at detecting parasitic contamination caused by consuming raw vegetables sold in Hamadan, west of Iran. Samples collected from vegetable fields irrigated by well water supply showed low parasitic contamination (28.5%) compared to those from farms irrigated by surface or sewage water (91%) (P < 0.0001). Healthy diet including fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Since the vegetables are served uncooked, without any processing, the contamination of these products seems very important They can transfer pathogens from planting through consuming process [2]. Vegetables are provided by local farmers in spring and summer but in autumn and winter vegetables are imported from relatively hot regions such as Khuzestan province due to the cold weather of Hamadan province
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