الفهرس 
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Abstract
Acanthamoeba spp. are one of the free-living amoebae that spread worldwide causing keratitis. Owing to the increased in the usage of contact lenses, whether for medical or cosmetic purposes, the incidence of disease increases every year. Contamination of the lenses with the Acanthamoeba trophozoites or cysts may lead to eye infection and cause sight-threatening keratitis in human.
The life cycle of Acanthamoeba species includes two stages a metabolically active or more susceptible trophozoite and a dormant, (or highly resistant) cyst form. Acanthamoeba trophozoites are frequently sensitive to a variety of medications. Treatment of AK is usually a problematic issue and not always effective. So, researchers are now working on the application of medicinal plants as a new source of novel molecules with high anti-amoebic activity and low toxicity, instead of to currently used synthetic molecules. ZSC seeds are used in traditional medicine in the Middle East and some Asian countries as anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents.
As the cyst wall is partly made of cellulose that accounts for 10% of the total dry weight of the cyst, it is more resistant to chemotherapy, leading to recurrence of infection after treatment. It is envisaged that the cellulose degradation by cellulase enzyme will make amoeba susceptible to available chemotherapeutic agents and at the very least inhibition of the excystment process will impede infection recurrence.
The present study was designed to isolate Acanthamoeba from new and used contact lenses and disinfectant solutions with Acanthamoeba and conduct morphological and molecular genotyping on isolates in Upper Egypt. from April to August 2019, one hundred samples of lenses and contact lenses solutions, new cosmetic lenses (NL, n= 50), used lenses (UL, n=30), and contact lenses solutions (opened) (LS, n= 20) were collected from cosmetic shops and contact lenses users in Assiut governorate, Egypt. Specimens were applied directly to the centers of the surface of NNA plate seeded with live E. coli.