AVALIAÇÃO PARASITOLÓGICA DE ALFACE EM FEIRAS E MERCADOS NO MUNICÍPIO DE RIO BRANCO, ACRE.
Authors: Passos Andressa de Oliveira , Nascimento Ketlen Silva do , Carvalho Roberta Mariana de , Silva Matheus de Araújo da , Santos Leandro Cavalcante 
Published: November 2024

Introduction: The search for a healthy diet has grown over the last few decades, making the  population opt for natural products, resulting in the intake of raw vegetables, with lettuce  (Lactuca sativa L.) being one of the most consumed in the world; hygiene is necessary to reduce  risks. The main contamination is due to poor sanitary conditions in the irrigation of vegetables,  planting and inadequate handling of these leafy vegetables. The topic is relevant because they  represent a serious public health problem. Objectives: to carry out a parasitological evaluation  of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) sold in the municipality of Rio Branco, Acre. Methods: Lettuce  samples of the species (Lactuca sativa L.) sold in 3 open-air markets were collected: Mercado  Municipal Elias Mansour, Central de Abastecimento de Rio Branco (Ceasa) and Feira Livre  and in different supermarkets X and Y in the municipality of Rio Branco , Ac. Methods: Lettuce  samples of the species (Lactuca sativa L.) sold in 3 open-air markets were collected: Mercado  Municipal Elias Mansour, Central de Abastecimento de Rio Branco (Ceasa) and Feira Livre  and in different supermarkets X and Y in the municipality of Rio Branco , Ac. 5 samples were  collected from each of the 5 units, totaling 25 samples per month and 250 between the months  of July/2022 to November/2022 and February/2023 to June/2023. Subsequently, transported to  the Parasitology Laboratory of the Uninorte University Center (UNINORTE). Leaves were  established as the sampling unit for vegetables. 200g of leaf was weighed, sliced and separated  for parasitological analysis and hygiene technique. To search for enteroparasites, the leaves  were washed with 500 ml of distilled water containing 0.5 ml of neutral detergent. The liquid  was used for the Spontaneous Sedimentation and Faust techniques. For the hygiene technique,  200g of leaves were submerged in a solution containing 1000 ml of distilled water and 10 ml  of sodium hypochlorite (2%), homogenized for 10 min. Subsequently, the liquid was used to  perform the spontaneous sedimentation technique. Results: To analyze diversity, the Shannon Wiener indices were used. In parasitological techniques, 51 parasitic agents were identified,  with Balantidium coli (7.2%), Entamoeba coli (6.8%), Endolimax nana (4.4%), Larva of  Strongyloides stercoralis (0.8%), followed by of Entamoeba histolyrica (0.4%), Arcella  vulgaris (0.4%), and Enterobius vermicularis larvae (0.4%). Among the lettuce sales units,  those with the highest prevalence were: Supermercado Y (27.5%), Mercado X (23.6%), Feira  Livre (25.4%), CEASA (15.7%) and Elias Mansour (7.8%). Protozoa represented (94.1%) and  Helminths (5.9%). Faust represented (56.8%) of the parasites found, compared to (43.2%) from  the spontaneous sedimentation technique. No parasitic forms were found after the sodium  hypochlorite cleaning technique. Conclusions: Lettuces sold in Rio Branco/AC contained  different types of protozoa and helminths, with the most common enteroparasites being  Balantidium coli and Entamoeba coli. The hygiene technique proved to be effective in  eliminating these agents. Ingesting raw lettuce may present a potential risk to consumers, and  it is recommended to clean it before consumption.