Digestibility and metabolism of flour from two yam species (D. dumetorum and D. rotundata) in school age children

The digestibility and metabolism in school age children of diets from two yam species (#D. dumetorum and #D. rotundata) are compared. Ten boys age 65 to 84 months, with heights and weights close to NCHS reference values, were fed meals deriving half of their protein and almost all of their starch from either of the two yam species. After 6 days of adaptation, food intake, stool and urine were collected for 4 days and analysed. Feeding diet based on #D. dumetorum resulted in higher apparent protein digestibility, net protein retention and net protein utilisation of 63.5, 46.2 and 29.8, respectively, compared to 56.1, 36.1 and 20.6 for #D. rotundata-based diet. (Résumé d'auteur

Внесок фізіологів рослин Новоросійського університету в розвиток гормональної теорії тропізмів на початку XX ст.

Проаналізовано результати досліджень науковців Новоросійського університету на початку ХХ ст. (Л.С. Ценковський, Л.А. Рішаві, М.Д. Вахтель, В.А. Ротерт, О.Г. Набоких, Б.Б. Гриневецький, Ф.М. Породко, Г.А. Боровіков), показано їх внесок у розвиток фітогормонології як науки.Проанализированы результаты исследований ученых Новороссийского университета в начале ХХ в. (Л.С. Ценковский, Л.А. Ришави, М.Д. Вахтель, В.А. Ротерт, А.И. Набоких, Б.Б. Гриневецкий, Ф.М. Породко, Г.А. Боровиков), показано их вклад в развитие фитогормонологии как науки.The research results of the Novorossiysk University scientists (L.S. Tsenkovskiy, L.A. Rishavi, M.D. Vakhtel, V.A. Rotert, A.I. Nabokikh, B.B. Hrynevetskiy, Ph.M. Porodko, G.A. Borovikov) of the early XX c. is analysed, their contribution to the phytohormonology development as a science is shown

Household and community socioeconomic and environmental determinants of child nutritional status in Cameroon

BACKGROUND: Undernutrition is a leading cause of child mortality in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We examine the household and community level socioeconomic and environmental factors associated with child nutritional status in Cameroon, and changes in the effects of these factors during the 1990s economic crisis. We further consider age-specific effects of household economic status on child nutrition. METHODS: Child nutritional status was measured by weight-for-age (WAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) z-scores. Data were from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 1991 and 1998. We used analysis of variance to assess the bivariate association between the explanatory factors and nutritional status. Multivariate, multilevel analyses were undertaken to estimate the net effects of both household and community factors. RESULTS: Average WAZ and HAZ declined respectively from -0.70 standard deviations (SD), i.e. 0.70 SD below the reference median, to -0.83 SD (p = 0.006) and from -1.03 SD to -1.14 SD (p = 0.026) between 1991 and 1998. These declines occurred mostly among boys, children over 12 months of age, and those of low socioeconomic status. Maternal education and maternal health seeking behavior were associated with better child nutrition. Household economic status had an overall positive effect that increased during the crisis, but it had little effect in children under 6 months of age. Improved household (water, sanitation and cooking fuel) and community environment had positive effects. Children living in the driest regions of the country were consistently worst off, and those in the largest cities were best off. CONCLUSION: Both household and community factors have significant impact on child health in Cameroon. Understanding these relationships can facilitate design of age- and community-specific intervention programs

Viscosity, energy density and osmolality of gruels for infants prepared from locally produced commercial flours in some developing countries

Forty market samples of locally produced (33) and imported (7) cereal-based flours used for complementary feeding in some African countries and Vietnam were studied in order to characterise their macronutrient content and, when prepared as gruels, their viscosity, energy density, and osmolality. The results show that less than half were fairly balanced with respect to their protein and lipid content. When prepared as gruels following the manufacturers' instructions, out of the 21 locally produced flours with complete instructions, ten had energy densities too low to provide sufficient energy to complement breastmilk for 9-11 month-old infants even at three meals a day (less than 77 kcal or 322 kJ/100 g), nine were satisfactory if fed more than twice a day, and two if fed twice a day (more than 116 kcal or 485 kJ/100 g). Two of the 11 with acceptable energy density had osmolality values higher than those reported in literature for complementary feeding (less than 660 mOsm/kg H2O). In addition, when prepared as gruels with viscosities within the range of viscosity (1 to 3 Pa.s) usually observed in African countries, 14 of the 32 (44%) locally produced flours had insufficient energy densities to meet the energy requirements of infants even at three meals a day. These results call for greater concern and effort towards improving the nutritive value and energy density of cereal-based complementary foods produced in developing countries. (Résumé d'auteur

Effect of ripening on the composition and the suitability for jam processing of different varieties of mango (Mangifera indica)

As part of an effort to solve the problem of post harvest losses of fruits, physicochemical characteristics of four mango varieties (Palmer, Améliorée, Mango and Keitt) were determined at two ripening stages. Their suitability for jam processing was also evaluated based on viscosity measurements. The pulps of pre-ripe mangoes were highly acidic (pH: 3.50 – 3.85), rich in starch (4.4 – 11.1 % w/w) as well as in dry matter. They contained less soluble sugars (4.04 – 7.56 g/100 g) and recorded lower viscosity values than those of the ripe mangoes. The pre-ripe Palmer and Améliorée mango varieties had high dry matter content, while the Mango and Améliorée varieties had higher soluble sugars contents. Due to their higher starch contents, all the jams prepared with pre-ripe mangoes were more viscous than the ripe mango preparations. Ripe Palmer and Améliorée varieties were the best for jam processing, based on their viscosity values. These results could help to improve the quality of mango jams. Key words: Mango, proximate analysis, ripening stage, jam processing. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.2(9) 2003: 301-30