Fatty acids in the nut of the Turkana Doum Palm (Hyphaene Coriacea).

The doum palms are important noncultivated fruit-plants in the arid and semiarid districts of Turkana, Samburu and Marsabit of Kenya. The plant has many domestic and commercial uses. However, despite the central place it occupies in the diets of all pastoral age groups living along the banks of the major rivers, its fatty acid profile is lacking in the literature. This study was conducted in order to document its lipid profile. Lipid extracts of the nut of the Turkana doum palm, Hyphaene coriacea, were obtained and the major fatty acids in the mesocarp and kernel oil extracts were determined. It was shown that the nut has an oil content of 0.4 and 10.3% in the mesocarp and kernel, respectively. The kernel and mesocarp lipid extracts contained 55 and 66% long-chain saturated fatty acids, C12-C16, and 76 and 66% total saturated fatty acids, respectively. The predominant fatty acids in declining order are lauric, oleic, myristic, palmitic and linoleic acid in the mesocarp, and lauric, oleic, capric, myristic, palmitic, linoleic and caprylic in the kernel. Both kernel and mesocarp oil extracts contained traces of stearic acid and no linolenic acid. Its hexane extract is therefore a typical lauric oil. The kernel oil extract had total monounsaturated fatty acids/total saturated fatty acids, total polyunsaturated fatty acids/total saturated fatty acids and total unsaturated fatty acids/total saturated fatty acids ratios of 0.29, 0.03 and 0.31, respectively. Due to the higher unsaturation, the oil extracts of the Turkana doum palm nut may be less stable with respect to oxidative deterioration than coconut and palm kernel oils. The knowledge of the nutrient composition of indigenous food plants such as the Turkana doum palm is important for the purpose of educating the public on the nutritional value of indigenous food plants available in their localities and for the purposes of conservation. The fatty acid profile of the lipid extracts of the nut of the plant showed that “eengol” is more unsaturated than coconut and palm kernel oils due to its higher oleic acid content. In this respect, it may be healthier to consume it in comparison to coconut and palm kernel oils. Keywords: Hyphaene coriacea, Turkana, fatty acidsAJFAND Vol. 8 (2) 2008 pp. 118-13

COVID-19: a review of what you should know and do to keep safe

SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, has resulted in high mortalities and global socio-economic disruptions. As knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 evolves, the public requires up to date and appropriate information in order to keep safe in the absence of a proven vaccine. This review of the literature was written to provide the latest information on the virus and the disease. SARS-CoV-2 bears a higher genomic homology to SARS-CoV-1 than MERS-CoV-1. Globally, COVID-19 has caused more than 4.07 million deaths and infected over 188 million people by 16th July, 2021. In Africa, more than 4.5 million and over 106,000 people have been infected and died, respectively. In Kenya, over 191,000 have been infected and 3,746 people have died from COVID-19 by the date. The figure for Kenya is much lower than the over 150,000 deaths from the Spanish flu of 1918-20. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted through expiratory droplets and direct contact, while faecal and airborne transmission have been documented, but not confirmed. It enters the body through nasal passages, conjunctiva or mouth. It can survive on bank notes, vinyl plastic, mobile phone, glass, cardboard, cloth fabric and stainless steel for varying periods. At 50% Rh, it can survive on stainless steel, vinyl plastic and glass at 20, 30 and 40oC for 28, 7 days and less than a day, respectively. On cotton fabrics, it can survive for 7, 3 days and less than 24 hr at 20, 30 and 40oC, respectively. Age, late hospitalization, diabetes co-morbidity, obesity, chronic lung disease and hypertension are the major risk factors for COVID-19 mortality. Age and laboratory indicators are predictors of mortality. Vaccines allowed for emergency use include the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/Biontech, Moderna, Sinopharm, SINOVAC, Sputnik V and Johnson and Johnson. Although they all have shown high efficacy against the original COVID-19 strains globally, they have lower efficacy against the Brazilian P.1, the UK B.1.1.7, Finnish FIN-796H, the New Jersey/New York B.1.526, the South African B.1.351 and the Indian Delta mutant. Regular hand washing, face masking, avoiding overcrowding, physical distancing, outdoor communing, seeking immediate medical attention and isolating when infected, all can minimize SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Potential infection from frozen foods packaging, frozen foods and food preparation surfaces has been demonstrated. However, good hygiene practices can minimize infection from foods, shopping bags, take-out containers and groceries. Animal foods should not be consumed raw, while groceries require thorough washing with potable water during preparation. Despite concerns posed by the continuing evolution of virulent mutants of SARS-CoV-2, researchers are working to develop effective vaccines in order to eliminate the threat of the virus

Meat eating in wild hamadryas baboons: Opportunistic trade‐offs between insects and vertebrates

The consumption of meat may provide herbivorous animals with important nutrients that are scarce in their plant-based diet. Seasonal variation in plant food availability has been suggested to motivate dietary flexibility in a range of species and thus primates may seek more prey when key plant resources are unavailable. Alternatively, prey encounter rate may drive meat eating. Here we investigate patterns of meat eating in hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) at Filoha, Awash National Park, Ethiopia. The Filoha baboons rely largely on doum palm fruit (Hyphaene thebaica), which are available most months of the year, and the young leaves of Acacia senegal, which are more abundant during the wet season. We hypothesized that the baboons would consume more meat when H. thebaica and A. senegal were less available, which we tested by comparing meat eating and consumption of these plant food species from March 2005 through February 2006. Our results reveal a high rate of vertebrate meat eating at Filoha (0.028/hour of observation) compared with other hamadryas sites. We found no relationship, however, between meat eating (either insect or vertebrate) and either rainfall or consumption of H. thebaica or A. senegal, indicating that availability of preferred plant resources does not drive meat consumption. Vertebrate consumption and time spent feeding were significantly negatively associated; there was no relationship, however, between the consumption of animal matter and either home range size or daily path length. Vertebrate and insect consumption alternated throughout the year such that the baboons maintained a small amount of animal matter in their diet year-round. Our results suggest that the baboons do not often actively seek animal matter, but consume it opportunistically, with the presence of locust and dragonfly swarms driving insect consumption, and both prey availability and the availability of feeding time shaping vertebrate predation