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A GENERAL OVERVIEW ON HELMINTHS EXISTENCE IN CHEHRABAD SALT MINE (ID 1318)
Abstract
Introduction
Using Paleoparasitology investigation, the existence of parasite life cycle in ancient time can be imagined. These findings can be also representative of diet and traits of human and animals in distant past. The archeological salt mine of Chehrabad has offered an appropriate preservation condition to interested researchers in finding helminths' remains from coprolites.
Methods
After collecting the samples and guess the origin and dating of coprolites, tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) solution was used to rehydrate the coprolites. From each two millimeters of samples, twenty microscopic slides were prepared and fixed using glycerin- gel fixation method. All the founded parasites were photographed using a camera equipped microscope.
Results
Different phyla of helminths including nematodes, cestodes and trematodes were detected during this investigation. Including the strongyles, Trichuris sp. , Fasciola hepatica sp. , Acantocephala sp. , Taenia sp., free living nematodes and Ascaris sp., .
Conclusions
Revealing of different helminths of animals in this archeological site till now illustrates the existence of almost the common current parasites of nowadays in ancient Iran. Along with exclusive parasites of animals such as Syphacia obvelata and Tricosomoides cracicauda of rats, equine pinworm "Oxyuris equi", anoplocephalan worms of herbivores some other zoonotic helminths like Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus that may accidentally occur in humans at the time being have been identified in this site. Regarding the great volume of biological remains available in different layers of this salt mine mainly animal experiments, detecting of more parasite species can be expected in future paleoparasitological investigations.