The enteroparasitic contamination of commercial vegetables

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the parasitological contamination of vegetables to be consumed raw and commercialized in Gaza governorates.Methodology: We studied 216 samples of vegetables including parsley, dill, rocket, cucumber, red cabbage and purslane collected from markets in Gaza governorate and Rafah governorate, between June and August 2006. The study was carried out in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University of Gaza. The vegetables were washed in tap water; the washing solution was then centrifuged and the sediments were examined for parasites.Results: The prevalence of the parasites was 22.5% in rocket, 17.5% in each of parsley and purslane, 16.3% in dill, 13.7% in red cabbage, and 12.5% in cucumber. The statistical analysis indicated that Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia intestinalis and Ascaris lumbricoides were the most common isolated parasites.Conclusions: It may be concluded that parasites are common in vegetables that are frequently eaten raw and the use of tap water does little to remove them. These findings could open a new avenue of research in vegetables.

Keywords

• enteroparasites
• contamination
• vegetables
• Gaza governorates.