Estimation of inorganic and biochemical constituents of Parascaris equorum from horse in Iran

The inorganic constituents of adult Parascaris equorum worms revealed the presence of sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, zinc, lead, chloride, cobalt, manganese, copper, lithium, nickel and silver in variable quantities. Though silver, nickel and lithium were in traces yet their presence was interesting. The analysis also showed triglycerides, cholesterol, protein, albumin and glucose. Excretory products viz. creatinine, uric acid and urea were also observed and the latter was in distinct quantity (12.8 mg/dl). The whole worms also contained 16amino acids, namely phenylalanine, tyrosine, alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, serine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Alanine was in maximum quantity (19.3 µM/g) whereas aspartic acid was minimum (0.6µM/g). Besides, lactic acid and ammonia were also present. Enzymatic components included creatinine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphodehydrogenase.