Beekeeping in Morocco: focus on honey production

Beekeeping is an agricultural sector that has a special character in Morocco. It is virtually present in different regions. The apiarian potentialities in Morocco are important and remain under exploited. Honey production is stagnating because of many difficulties concerning repopulating colonies despite governmental efforts to modernize the sector. This review is to present a synthesis about the sector of beekeeping and honey production in Morocco. It will allow describing the situations, to understand the challenges faced by the Moroccan beekeeping by focusing on: bee farming, honey production, professional organization, marketing and regulatory issues. The main issues of this sector is the preservation of the Saharan yellow bee, increasing honey production and productivity of the hives, the application of good hygiene practices, enhancing honey quality, regulatory revision, adjusting the current model of professional organization, structuring of honey marketing channels and finally conclude with recommendations and prospects.L’apiculture est une filière agricole qui a un caractère spécial au Maroc. Elle est pratiquement présente dans les différentes régions du Royaume. Les potentialités apicoles au Maroc sont importantes et pourtant, aujourd'hui, la filière apicole reste sous exploitée avec une production de miel qui stagne à cause de beaucoup de difficultés à repeupler les colonies malgré les efforts de l’Etat en vue de la modernisation de la filière apicole. L’objectif de ce travail de revue et de synthèse est de faire un état des lieux de la filière apicole, en l’occurrence la production du miel en nous appuyant sur le peu de données bibliographiques disponibles. Cet article permettra de mieux appréhender les enjeux auxquelles fait face la filière apicole marocaine. Il sera focalisé sur : l’élevage apicole, la production de miel, l’organisation professionnelle, la commercialisation et aux aspects réglementaires. Les principaux enjeux de cette filière sont la préservation de la race l’abeille jaune saharienne, l’augmentation de la production du miel et de la productivité des ruches, l’application des bonnes pratiques sanitaires apicoles, le renforcement de la qualité du miel, la révision du cadre réglementaire, l’ajustement du modèle d’organisation professionnelle actuelle et la structuration des circuits de commercialisation du miel. Enfin, une perspective a été tracée

Relationship among antibiotic residues and antibacterial activity of the endemic spurge honey (Euphorbia Resinifera o. Berg) from morocco

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to be of major health concern worldwide. In recent years, several reports and scientific articles claim the contamination of honey by antibiotics, detectable concentrations of antibiotic residues in honey are illegal. They, may cause hypersensitivity or resistance to drug therapy in humans, and are perceived by consumers as undesirable. In this sense, the purpose of this work was to examine the antibacterial activity of the Euphorbia resinifera (E. resinifera) honey against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro using the well-agar diffusion assay followed by dilution range to obtain more precise minimum inhibitory concentration values. The second aim is to evaluate the presence of antibiotics in honey using a screening test: Evidence Investigator™, an immuno-enzymatic method for detection of 27 antibiotic residues followed by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for confirmation of suspect samples; in order to assess the relationship between the presence of antibiotic residues and the antibacterial activity of honey. In this study, a total of 37 E. resinifera honey samples were analyzed. The results show that all samples of honey inhibited the growth of bacteria at the dilutions at 50% (v/v); the highest inhibition zone (25.98 ± 0.11 mm) was recorded from sample 5 for Staphylococcus aureus and (13.84 ± 1.10 mm) in sample 17 for Escherichia coli and that 50% (v/v) dilutions showed significant antibacterial effect compared to other dilutions (6.25, 12.5, 25% (v/v)). In all samples, there were no antibiotic residues detected except for one showing the detection of Trimethoprim at 6.48 µg kg-1. Our research is one of the first studies that relate the he relationship between the presence of antibiotic residues and the antibacterial activity of Euphorbia resinifera honey and showed that the antibacterial activity of honey might be due to the high osmotic nature, a low pH, its content of phenolic compounds and hydrogen peroxide and also to its content of methylglyoxal

Improved Method for DNA Extraction and Purification from <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i>

Tetrahymena pyriformis (protozoa) is intensely investigated as a model organism, offering numerous advantages in comprehensive and multidisciplinary studies using morphologic or molecular methods. Since DNA extraction is a vital step of any molecular experiment, here a new mixed surfactant (Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) 20%/Triton X-100) was adopted for effective DNA extraction from Tetrahymena pyriformis under an easy, fast protocol. The efficiency of this technique was then compared with three widely-used alternative techniques, namely the Chelex 100 matrix, Ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APD) complex and SDS&#8211;chloroform methods. DNA extraction was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, spectral measurement, fluorometry (Qubit), restriction enzyme digestion, and polymerase chain reaction. Data analysis revealed that the quantity and quality of the recovered DNA varied depending on the applied DNA extraction method. The new method (SDS 20%/Triton X-100) was the most efficient for extracting DNA from Tetrahymena pyriformis with high integrity and purity, affordable cost, less time, and suitability for molecular applications

Small Dense LDL Level and LDL/HDL Distribution in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients

This study aimed to determine the size and distribution of LDL and HDL particles in North African acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients and to compare the level of small dense LDL (sdLDL) to other markers used in cardiovascular risk prediction. Methods: A total of 205 ACS patients and 100 healthy control subjects were enrolled. LDL particle size and LDL and HDL subclass distributions were measured using Quantimetric Lipoprint® linear polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Lipid ratios (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol) were determined to calculate the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), the atherogenic coefficient (AC), Castelli’s Risk-I (CR-I), and Castelli’s Risk-II (CR-II). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses and area under the curve (AUC) were used to assess the predictive value of sdLDL as a marker for cardiovascular disease. Results: The ACS patients, compared to the healthy control subjects, displayed an alteration of LDL particle distribution, with a significant increase in sdLDL serum concentrations (0.303 ± 0.478 mmol/L vs. 0.0225 ± 0.043 mmol/L, respectively, p p p p p < 0.008), respectively. The subclass distribution of HDL particles from ACS patients was also altered, with a decrease in large HDL particles and an increase in small HDL particles compared to HDL from healthy control subjects. Conclusion: Due to their high atherogenicity, sdLDL levels could be used as a valuable marker for the prediction cardiovascular events

Table_2_Euphorbia species latex: A comprehensive review on phytochemistry and biological activities.docx

The genus Euphorbia includes about 2,000 species commonly widespread in both temperate and tropical zones that contain poisonous milky juice fluid or latex. Many species have been used in traditional and complementary medicine for the treatment of various health issues such as dropsy, paralysis, deafness, wounds, warts on the skin, and amaurosis. The medicinal applications of these species have been attributed to the presence of various compounds, and most studies on Euphorbia species have focused on their latex. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge on chemical composition and biological activities of the latex from various species of the genus Euphorbia. Our aim was to explore the applications of latex extracts in the medical field and to evaluate their ethnopharmacological potential. The databases employed for data collection, are obtained through Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct and Scopus, from 1983 to 2022. The bibliographic data indicate that terpenoids are the most common secondary metabolites in the latex. Furthermore, the latex has interesting biological properties and pharmacological functions, including antibacterial, antioxidant, free radical scavenger, cytotoxic, tumor, anti-inflammatory, healing, hemostatic, anti-angiogenic, insecticidal, genotoxic, and mutagenic activities. However, the role of other components in the latex, such as phenolic compounds, alkaloids, saponins, and flavonoids, remains unknown, which limits the application of the latex. Future studies are required to optimize the therapeutic use of latex extracts.</p