Mobilization of Natural Substances Against Blastocystis sp. With a Focus on Medicinal Plants: A Mini-Review

Blastocystis is known as a mysterious polymorphic single-celled protozoan that can infect humans and various animals. Despite its worldwide isolation from people with gastrointestinal complications, its exact pathogenicity is in an aura of ambiguity. However, drug treatments, and the most prominent of them, metronidazole (MTZ), are prescribed as the first line of treatment. Various clinical complications, such as neurotoxic symptoms, kidney and heart failure, and the like, have been defined for MTZ. A large body of research has been performed to find a safer alternative with a preference for materials of a natural nature and is still ongoing. Recently, interest has grown in the potential use of plant derivatives for antiparasitic purposes. Among them, some plants have shown significant effects on different species and subtypes of Blastocystis in in vitro and in vivo conditions. The present mini-review has attempted to draw a more comprehensive picture of different forms of anti-Blastocystis plants from previous studies and provide an idea-generating content for future studies.