Nutrition rehabilitation of undernourished children utilizing Spiruline and Misola

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition constitutes a public health problem throughout the world and particularly in developing countries. AIMS: The objective of the study is to assess the impact of an elementary integrator composed of Spiruline (Spirulina platensis) and Misola (millet, soja, peanut) produced at the Centre Medical St Camille (CMSC) of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on the nutritional status of undernourished children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 550 undernourished children of less than 5 years old were enrolled in this study, 455 showed severe marasma, 57 marasma of medium severity and 38 kwashiorkor plus marasma. We divided the children randomly into four groups: 170 were given Misola (731 ± 7 kcal/day), 170 were given Spiruline plus traditional meals (748 ± 6 kcal/day), 170 were given Spiruline plus Misola (767 ± 5 kcal/day). Forty children received only traditional meals (722 ± 8 kcal/day) and functioned as the control group. The duration of this study was eight weeks. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Anthropometrics and haematological parameters allowed us to appreciate both the nutritional and biological evolution of these children. The rehabilitation with Spiruline plus Misola (this association gave an energy intake of 767 ± 5 kcal/day with a protein assumption of 33.3 ± 1.2 g a day), both greater than Misola or Spiruline alone, seems to correct weight loss more quickly. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that Misola, Spiruline plus traditional meals or Spiruline plus Misola are all a good food supplement for undernourished children, but the rehabilitation by Spiruline plus Misola seems synergically favour the nutrition rehabilitation better than the simple addition of protein and energy intake

Broad Surveys of DNA Viral Diversity Obtained through Viral Metagenomics of Mosquitoes

Viruses are the most abundant and diverse genetic entities on Earth; however, broad surveys of viral diversity are hindered by the lack of a universal assay for viruses and the inability to sample a sufficient number of individual hosts. This study utilized vector-enabled metagenomics (VEM) to provide a snapshot of the diversity of DNA viruses present in three mosquito samples from San Diego, California. The majority of the sequences were novel, suggesting that the viral community in mosquitoes, as well as the animal and plant hosts they feed on, is highly diverse and largely uncharacterized. Each mosquito sample contained a distinct viral community. The mosquito viromes contained sequences related to a broad range of animal, plant, insect and bacterial viruses. Animal viruses identified included anelloviruses, circoviruses, herpesviruses, poxviruses, and papillomaviruses, which mosquitoes may have obtained from vertebrate hosts during blood feeding. Notably, sequences related to human papillomaviruses were identified in one of the mosquito samples. Sequences similar to plant viruses were identified in all mosquito viromes, which were potentially acquired through feeding on plant nectar. Numerous bacteriophages and insect viruses were also detected, including a novel densovirus likely infecting Culex erythrothorax. Through sampling insect vectors, VEM enables broad survey of viral diversity and has significantly increased our knowledge of the DNA viruses present in mosquitoes

Spirulina platensis versus silymarin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. A pilot randomized, comparative clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Spirulina platensis, a cynobacterium used frequently as a dietary supplement had been found to exhibit many immune-stimulating and antiviral activities. It had been found to activate macrophages, NK cells, T cells, B cells, and to stimulate the production of Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and other cytokines. Natural substances isolated from Spirulina platensis had been found to be potent inhibitors against several enveloped viruses by blocking viral absorption/penetration and some replication stages of progeny viruses after penetration into cells. We aimed to study whether this dietary supplement possesses any therapeutically feasible activity worthy of further larger controlled clinical evaluation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty six patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and eligible for inclusion had been randomized to either Spirulina or Silymarin treated groups for a period of six months treatment.</p> <p>The two groups were followed up and blindly compared for early (after 3 months) and end of 6 months treatment virological response. The effects of both treatments on each of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire scores (CLDQ), Arizona Sexual Experience Scale scores (ASEX) and the occurrence of any attributable adverse events were also compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 30 patients who had been treated with Spirulina and completed the 6 months protocol, 4 patients (13.3%) had a complete end of treatment virological response and 2 patients (6.7%) had a partial end of treatment response defined as significant decrease of virus load of at least 2-logs₁₀. Though the proportion of responders in Spirulina group was greater than in the Silymarin group, the difference was not statistically significant at the end of both 6 months (p = 0.12) and 3 months treatment (p = 0.22) by Exact test. Alanine aminotransferase as well as CLDQ and ASEX scores were found to be more significantly improved in Spirulina than in Silymarin treated group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results could suggest a therapeutically feasible potential for Spirulina platensis in chronic HCV patients, worthy to conduct a larger sized and longer study to confirm these safety and efficacy encouraging results.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>WHO Clinical Trial Registration ID: <a href="http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12610000958088.aspx">ACTRN12610000958088</a></p> <p><url>http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/trial.aspx?trialid=ACTRN12610000958088</url></p