Optimisation De La Production De L’ α-Amylase Par Les Microorganismes Isolés Des Ferments Traditionnels De Manioc Provenant De Trois Zones De Production De L’attiéké En Côte d’Ivoire

This research work aimed at studying production kinetic of α-amylase by microbial strains isolated from three traditional cassava ferments; with a view of their potential use as starter cultures. The study was carried out on 42 amylolytic strains comprising 15 lactic acid bacteria species, 9 yeast, 9 Bacillus sp. And 9 moulds. Amyloytic activities were assessed in vitro in a broth. Independently of strains and their origin, results showed three α-amylase regulation kinetics. From the 3 species which constitutively secrete α-amylase, only Candida tropicalis LVX8 excretes a large amount of α-amylase (171.33 ± 3 EU/mL) in 24 hours. Among strains, which α-amylase excretion is regulated by a repression, the optimal duration for each one of them varied from 4 to 24 hours. Thus, Lactobacillus casei LABZ4 secretes within 4 hours of culture, 47.3 ± 1.41 EU/mL, whereas yeast (LVX1, LVZ19, LVY16 and LVZ1), moulds (MZ2, MZ1 and MY2) and Bacilli (BX5, BY4 and BZ15) strains excreted each during 12 to 20 hours α-amylase amounts ranging from 60 ± 3.7 and 106 ± 1.3 EU/mL. For strains with amylase production modulated by inactivation, maximal amounts of enzymes were very low and reached after only 4 hours. However, for yeasts LVX14, LVY3 and LVZ18, inactivation was observed from 16 hours, with activities higher than 100 EU/mL. Considering the diversity of production kinetics of α-amylase, the use of these isolates for a controlled fermentation of cassava dough would be optimal in co-culture

Comparative study of the efficacy and tolerability of dihydroartemisinin - piperaquine - trimethoprim versus artemether - lumefantrine in the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ACT recommended by WHO is very effective and well-tolerated. However, these combinations need to be administered for three days, which may limit adherence to treatment.</p> <p>The combination of dihydroartemisinin - piperaquine phosphate - trimethoprim (Artecom^®, Odypharm Ltd), which involves treatment over two days, appears to be a good alternative, particularly in malaria-endemic areas. This study intends to compare the efficacy and tolerability of the combination dihydroartemisinin - piperaquine phosphate - trimethoprim (DPT) versus artemether - lumefantrine (AL) in the treatment of uncomplicated <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a randomized, controlled, open-label clinical trial with a 28-day follow-up period comparing DPT to AL as the reference drug. The study involved patients of at least two years of age, suffering from acute, uncomplicated <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria with fever. The WHO 2003 protocol was used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 418 patients were included in the study and divided into two treatment groups: 212 in the DPT group and 206 in the AL group. The data analysis involved the 403 subjects who correctly followed the protocol (<it>per protocol </it>analysis), i.e. 206 (51.1%) in the DPT group and 197 (48.9%) in the AL group. The recovery rate at D14 was 100% in both treatment groups. The recovery rate at D28 was 99% in the DPT and AL groups before and after PCR results with one-sided 97.5% Confidence Interval of the rates difference > -1.90%. More than 96% of patients who received DPT were apyrexial 48 hours after treatment compared to 83.5% in the AL group (p < 0.001). More than 95% of the people in the DPT group had a parasite clearance time of 48 hours or less compared to approximately 90% in the AL group (p = 0.023). Both drugs were well tolerated. No serious adverse events were reported during the follow-up period. All of the adverse events observed were minor and did not result in the treatment being stopped in either treatment group. The main minor adverse events reported were vomiting, abdominal pain and pruritus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The overall efficacy and tolerability of DPT are similar to those of AL. The ease of taking DPT and its short treatment course (two days) may help to improve adherence to treatment. Taken together, these findings make this medicinal product a treatment of choice for the effective management of malaria in Africa.</p

Evaluation de l'activité antipaludique de 21 plantes utilisées en médecine traditionnelle ivoirienne (fractionnement biodirigé des extraits les plus actifs)

La propagation de la résistance aux antipaludiques est un frein évident à la lutte contre le paludisme dans le monde. D'où la nécessité et l'urgence d'élaborer de nouveaux médicaments de faible coût, efficaces contre les souches multirésistantes de P. falciparum. Dans cette étude nous avons évalué l'activité antiplamodiale de 21 plantes couramment utilisées en médecine traditionnelle ivoirienne contre le paludisme. Les composés actifs ont été isolés par fractionnement biodirigé des extraits les plus intéressants. C'est ainsi que nous avons isolé la cryptolépine et l'acide ellagique respectivement à partir de Sida acuta et Alchornea cordifolia. Ces molécules ont montré in vitro une meilleure activité que la chloroquine contre une souche chloroquino-résistante FcM29. L'acide ellagique a montré une activité in vivo contre P. vinckei petteri qui est cependant plus faible que celle de la chloroquine. L'ensemble de cette étude a fait l'objet de 3 publications dans des revues internationales.MONTPELLIER-BU Pharmacie (341722105) / SudocPARIS-BIUP (751062107) / SudocSudocFranceF

Synthesis and anthelmintic activity of some hybrid Benzimidazolyl-chalcone derivatives

Purpose: To synthesize hybrid benzimidazolyl-chalcone derivatives, evaluate their anthelmintic activity, and establish some structural elements which could lead to induction and enhancement of this activity. Methods: A series of 1-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-3-aryl-2-propen-1-one compounds (6a-z) was synthesized by condensation reaction of 2-acetylbenzimidazole with aryl and heteroaryl aldehyde derivatives. The physicochemical characterization of these benzimidazolyl-chalcones was carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H and 13C NMR) and mass spectroscopy (MS). All compounds were screened in vitro for their nematicidal activity against Haemonchus contortus in larval development assay. The anthelmintic activities obtained were compared with those of anthelmintic reference drugs (fenbendazole and ivermectin); 1,3-diphenyl-2-propen-1-one also used as reference for chalcone. Results: Compounds 6a, 6g, 6w and 6y showed good nematicidal activity (LC100) at 0.002 and 0.0092 μg/ml. The activity of these four benzimidazolyl-chalcones is nearly equal to that of fenbendazole. It is also interesting to know that these compounds have anti-haemonchus activity which is equal or more efficient than ivermectin. Four other compounds (6d, 6h, 6o and 6t) possess interesting anthelmintic activities at 0.68 and 0.16 μg/ml. Conclusion: Preliminary structure-activity relationship studies revealed that arylpropenone group in position 2 of the benzimidazole ring can be considered as new pharmacophore for nematicidal activity

Universal HIV screening at postnatal points of care: which public health approach for early infant diagnosis in Côte d'Ivoire?

BACKGROUND: Universal HIV pediatric screening offered at postnatal points of care (PPOC) is an entry point for early infant diagnosis (EID). We assessed the parents' acceptability of this approach in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, trained counselors offered systematic HIV screening to all children aged 6-26 weeks attending PPOC in three community health centers with existing access to HAART during 2008, as well as their parents/caregivers. HIV-testing acceptability was measured for parents and children; rapid HIV tests were used for parents. Both parents' consent was required according to the Ivorian Ethical Committee to perform a HIV test on HIV-exposed children. Free HIV care was offered to those who were diagnosed HIV-infected. FINDINGS: We provided 3,013 HIV tests for infants and their 2,986 mothers. While 1,731 mothers (58%) accepted the principle of EID, only 447 infants had formal parental consent 15%; 95% confidence interval (CI): [14%-16%]. Overall, 1,817 mothers (61%) accepted to test for HIV, of whom 81 were HIV-infected (4.5%; 95% CI: [3.5%-5.4%]). Among the 81 HIV-exposed children, 42 (52%) had provided parental consent and were tested: five were HIV-infected (11.9%; 95% CI: [2.1%-21.7%]). Only 46 fathers (2%) came to diagnose their child. Parental acceptance of EID was strongly correlated with prenatal self-reported HIV status: HIV-infected mothers were six times more likely to provide EID parental acceptance than mothers reporting unknown or negative prenatal HIV status (aOR: 5.9; 95% CI: [3.3-10.6], p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Although the principle of EID was moderately accepted by mothers, fathers' acceptance rate remained very low. Routine HIV screening of all infants was inefficient for EID at a community level in Abidjan in 2008. Our results suggest the need of focusing on increasing the PMTCT coverage, involving fathers and tracing children issued from PMTCT programs in low HIV prevalence countries

Immunity Status of Blood Donors Regarding Toxoplasma gondii Infection in a Low-Income District of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa

Background. Toxoplasmosis is a widespread cosmopolitan anthropozoonosis, which affects more than a third of the world population. Except the modes of transmission well known, Toxoplasma gondii can be transmitted during transplantation or blood transfusion. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of IgG and IgM Toxoplasma gondii and to estimate the potential risk by blood products. Methods. This is a cross-sectional study on the research for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (IgG and IgM) blood donors performed by ELISA. Results. An overall seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among blood donors recruited was 67.92% (n=72). Among these, 68 have Toxoplasma gondii IgG (64.15%), 12 Toxoplasma gondii IgM (11.32%), and 4 (3.77%) both. The risk varies between 8 for 100000 and 172 for 100000 donations. Conclusion. The need to strengthen security measures for people multitransfused, immunocompromised, and pregnant women to reduce the transmission of toxoplasmosis is important

Efficacy and Safety of Artesunate-Amodiaquine versus Artemether-Lumefantrine in the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Sentinel Sites across Côte d’Ivoire

Two years after the introduction of free Artesunate-Amodiaquine (ASAQ) and Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL) for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in public health facilities in Côte d’Ivoire, we carried out this study to compare their efficacy and tolerability in three surveillance sites. It was a multicentre open randomised clinical trial of 3-day ASAQ treatment against AL for the treatment of 2 parallel groups of patients aged 2 years and above. The endpoints were (1) Adequate Clinical and Parasitological Response (ACPR) at day 28 and (2) the clinical and biological tolerability. Of the 300 patients who were enrolled 289, with 143 (49.5%) and 146 (50.5%) in the ASAQ and AL groups, respectively, correctly followed the WHO 2003 protocol we used. The PCR-corrected ACPR was 99.3% for each group. More than 94% of patients no longer showed signs of fever, 48 hours after treatment. Approximately 78% of the people in the ASAQ group had a parasite clearance time of 48 hours or less compared to 81% in the AL group (p=0.496). Both drugs were found to be well tolerated by the patients. This study demonstrates the effectiveness and tolerability of ASAQ and AL supporting their continuous use for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria infection in Côte d’Ivoire

First case of mixed infection with Cryptococcus deuterogattii and Cryptococcus neoformans VNI in an Ivorian HIV-positive patient

International audienceINTRODUCTION:Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) may be caused by several species of Cryptococcus.CASE PRESENTATION:We describe a fatal case of CM in a HIV-positive patient from Ivory Coast infected by Cryptococcus neoformans VNI and Cryptococcusdeuterogattii. Isolates were recovered from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) prior to systemic antifungal treatment. Six isolates were studied (the entire culture plus five isolated colonies from it). Serotyping was performed via LAC 1 and CAP 64 gene amplification. Genotyping was performed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the URA5 gene, (GACA)4, (GTG)5 and M13 PCR fingerprinting. URA5-RFLP analysis identified the original culture with two different molecular type combinations. However, URA5-RFLP profiles of the five colonies isolated from the original sample revealed two different species. Four colonies were identified as C.deuterogattii and the last isolate as C.neoformans VNI. The in vitro susceptibility profile was determined using the standard method according to the CLSI M27-A3 protocol. The isolates were susceptible to the tested antifungals (fluconazole, flucytosine and amphotericin B). Treatment with fluconazole (1200  mg day-1) was initiated; however, the patient died 17 days after the onset of antifungal therapy.CONCLUSION:This is the first reported case of mixed infection with C. neoformans and C.deuterogattii in a HIV-positive patient