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This article, titled "Editorial: Impact and control of food- and waterborne protozoan parasites," discusses the increasing threat to food safety posed by protozoan parasites such as Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Giardia, and Toxoplasma gondii. These parasites can contaminate fresh produce, vegetables, fruits, and meat, and can cause gastrointestinal outbreaks and serious health problems in immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women. The article emphasizes the need for rapid and standardized detection methods, advances in molecular biology and diagnostic technologies, and interdisciplinary collaboration to address these public health hazards. The authors also highlight specific studies on the prevalence and risk factors associated with gastrointestinal parasites in goats and sheep, the detection of Toxoplasma gondii in mussels using droplet digital PCR, and the development of a targeted amplicon sequencing method for genotyping Cyclospora cayetanensis. [Extracted from the article]

Acanthamoeba spp. cause keratitis and encephalitis, and are a proper carrier of foodborne pathogens. A total of 70 samples including garden cress, chives, mint, parsley, and basil were collected. Samples were cultured onto a 2% non-nutrient agar medium. The cultures were analyzed using morphological and molecular techniques. In total, 18 (25.7%) out of 70 samples were positive including garden cress 10/22 (45.45%), chives 3/12 (25%), mint 2/13 (15.38%), basil 2/13 (15.38%), and parsley 1/10 (10%). The diagnostic fragment 3 was successfully sequenced in 15 samples and represented 11 (73.3%) T4, three (20%) T5, and one T9 genotypes. In addition, three, two, and one strains, belonging to the genotypes T4, T5, and T9 were ranked highly pathogenic. This is the first study reporting contamination of the most commonly consumed fresh vegetables with pathogenic Acanthamoeba genotypes. Our findings signify the public health concerns due the contamination of vegetables in municipal public markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FLA-related conditions are a rare medical occurrence. Despite their rarity, they are considered a public health concern for two reasons: the absence of a regular treatment regimen in the case of central nervous system infections and the fast progression of the symptoms leading to fatal outcomes. A total of 358 articles were retrieved from different databases (91 from PubMed, 26 from NCBI, 138 from Academia, 102 from Science Direct, and one from IJMED). 7 (46.6%) clinical cases came from Egypt, 2 (13.3%) cases of FLA infection came from Nigeria, 3 (20%) cases came from the Gambia, and 1 (6.6%) case was reported from African countries like Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, and Zambia. Medical conditions caused by free-living amoeba are considered significant public health concerns. These ubiquitous organisms can cause both fatal and debilitating health conditions. Immediate diagnosis of cases and proper hygienic practices are necessary to provide direct medical intervention. They may be the key to reducing the morbidity and mortality rates from FLA-acquired infections. Although several government-led initiatives have been implemented to mitigate a plethora of parasitic diseases, the case of FLA-related conditions in African countries has yet to be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigates the toxic activity of Artemisia judaica ethanolic extract (ArEx) as well as its phenolic fraction (ArPh), and terpenoid fraction (ArT) against Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) oocysts. Methods: Over a 4 months period, estimation of the total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC), and total terpenoids contents (TTC) in ArEx; investigation of the in vitro antioxidant activity of ArEx, ArPh, and ArT; evaluation of ArEx, ArPh, and ArT toxic activity against C. parvum oocysts using MTT assay; parasitological analysis on ArPh-treated C. parvum oocysts and comet assay were performed both in vitro and in vivo (infectivity). Results: The ArEx TPC, TFC, and TTC was 52.6 ± 3.1 mgGAE/g, 64.5 ± 3.1 mg QE/g, and 9.5 ± 1.1 mg Linol/g, respectively. Regarding the phytochemical in vitro antioxidant activity, the ArPh exhibited the highest antioxidant activity compared to the ArEx and ArT. The ArPh showed promising free radical scavenging activity of DPPH and ABTS•+ with IC50 values of 47.27 ± 1.86 µg/mL and 66.89 ± 1.94 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the FRAP of ArPh was 2.97 ± 0.65 mMol Fe+2/g while its TAC was 46.23 ± 3.15 mg GAE/g. The ArPh demonstrated toxic activity against C. parvum oocysts with a potent IC50 value of 31.6 µg/mL compared to ArT (promising) and ArEx (non-effective). ArPh parasitological analysis demonstrated MIC90 at 1000 µg/ml and effective oocysts destruction on count and morphology. ArPh fragmented oocysts nuclear DNA in comet assay. Beginning at 200 µg/mL, ArPh-treated oocysts did not infect mice. Conclusion: To combat C. parvum infection, the phenolic fraction of A. judaica L. shows promise as an adjuvant therapy or as a source of potentially useful lead structures for drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant activities, enzyme inhibition potentials, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Hypericum perforatum L. ethanol extracts. The phenolic content of the plant extract was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The antioxidant activities of the plant extract were determined based on the iron-reducing power and scavenging potentials of the DPPH radical. Furthermore, chelating ability, superoxide dismutase and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, tyrosinase a-glucosidase, and cholinesterase inhibition assays were determined by spectrophotometric techniques. The plant extract's total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 8.828 mg GAE/g and 10.366 mg CTE/g extract, respectively. H. perforatum ethanolic extract exhibited scavenging of 1,1-Diphenyl-2-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) with an SC50 value of 0.469 mg/mL and superoxide anion radicals with IC50 values of 0.338 mg/mL. Ferric-ion chelating (%4.7 in 0.5 mg/mL), antiinflammatory activity (%25.12 in 0.2 mg/mL), acetylcholinesterase inhibition (%18 in 0.2 mg/mL), butyrylcholinesterase inhibition (%15 in 0.2 mg/mL), tyrosinase inhibition (%35 in 0.5 mg/mL), and a-glucosidase inhibition (%35 in 0.2 mg/mL) activities of the plant extract were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]