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Published on: March 16, 2018
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Testing new parasite egg extraction methods in paleoparasitology and an attempt at quantification
Benjamin Dufour1, Matthieu Le Bailly1
1University of Franche-Comte, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, 16, Route de Gray, 25030 Besancon Cedex, France.
International Journal of Paleopathology
|March 15, 2018
Summary
Researchers evaluated acid and base treatments for parasite egg extraction in sediments. While acids concentrated some parasite eggs, they reduced overall species diversity, suggesting minimal use in paleoparasitology.
Area of Science:
- Paleoparasitology
- Archaeological science
- Parasitology
Background:
- Paleoparasitological analyses rely on effective parasite egg extraction from archaeological sediments.
- Standard protocols like rehydration-homogenization-micro-sieving (RHM) are established but may have limitations.
- Investigating alternative chemical treatments can potentially improve extraction efficiency and data quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, and sodium hydroxide for parasite egg extraction.
- To compare the results of chemical treatments with the standard RHM protocol using an egg counting method.
- To determine the impact of these chemicals on parasite egg preservation and overall biodiversity in archaeological samples.
Main Methods:
- Parasite egg extraction from archaeological sediments using hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, and sodium hydroxide.
- Comparison of chemical extraction methods against the standard rehydration-homogenization-micro-sieving (RHM) protocol.
- Quantitative egg counting to assess parasite taxa concentration and species diversity.
Main Results:
- Hydrochloric acid concentrated certain parasite taxa (e.g., Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp.) and reduced non-target remains.
- Acid treatments systematically decreased the number of identified parasite species compared to the RHM protocol.
- Sodium hydroxide treatment resulted in significantly lower parasite biodiversity than the standard RHM protocol, likely due to eggshell degradation.
Conclusions:
- Acid and base treatments can damage parasite eggs, particularly affecting chitin in eggshells, leading to reduced species identification.
- The use of acids and sodium hydroxide should be minimized in paleoparasitological analyses to preserve biodiversity.
- The egg counting method is effective for evaluating extraction techniques and can be applied in future paleoparasitology research.
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