Experimental Trial of Probiotics as a Treatment for Blastocystis hominis in Mice

Abstract

Blastocystis is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in humans, with a worldwide distribution. It is a tiny parasite that lives in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotic bacteria have been found in the feces of some people who have diarrhea, stomach pain, or other gastrointestinal issues. Probiotic bacteria have proven to be effective in treating many digestive diseases, and they stimulate early immunity in children and improve immunity at all ages. The present study aimed to confirm the probiotic role in parasitic diseases, if any. To do so, Blastocystis hominis was used as a model to confirm probiotic effectiveness in parasitic infections. Children with recurrent diarrhoea had their stools sampled as part of an experimental study. After microscopic inspection of all stool samples for Blastocystis hominis and other parasites, isolated Blastocystis hominis was used to infect BALB/C mice. In experimentally infected mice, the effectiveness of metronidazole coupled with probiotics was compared to that of metronidazole alone and probiotics alone. Compared to the infected group treated with metronidazole and the infected group treated with probiotics, the mean number of cysts in the stools of infected mice significantly decreased in the metronidazole combination probiotics treatment group.