SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS AND MANAGEMENT REGIMES ON USE OF FRUNDU AS FERMENTED FAMINE FOOD IN URBAN NORTHERN DARFUR IN SUDAN

Frundu, which in a local term in Darfur for fermented seeds of roselle ( Hibiscus sabdariffa L.), is a traditional Sudanese food often used as a meat substitute during famine times. The objective of this study was to assess the relationships between socio-demographic and management regimes on the use of Frundu as a food security commodity in urban Darfur in Sudan. A survey involving 140 respondents was conducted in El-Fashir city markets, where Frundu is a popular commodity in Darfur markets. A semi-structured questionnaire and Chi square analysis were used. It was found that the period of fermentation of Frundu ranged from 3 to 7 days, depending on seasonal temperature. The storage period of Frundu was on average one year. Over 55% of the respondents acknowledged Frundu as critical a coping strategy when famine struck Darfur and the majority of respondents were familiar with Frundu. Frundu is becoming less popular in Darfur for several reasons; including difficulty in obtaining Roselle seeds, competition from the cheapest food items especially during non-famine time; and lack of familiarity with Frundu among young generations. To boost its production, processing and utilisation, farmers should be encouraged to increase its cultivation particularly because it is an important cash crops in Sudan.Frundu, qui est les graines ferment\ue9es de roselle dans un terme local au Darfour (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.), est un aliment traditionnel soudanais souvent utilis\ue9 comme substitut de viande en p\ue9riode de famine. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer les relations entre les r\ue9gimes socio-d\ue9mographiques et de gestion sur l\u2019utilisation du Frundu comme produit de s\ue9curit\ue9 alimentaire dans le Darfour urbain au Soudan. Une enqu\ueate aupr\ue8s de 140 r\ue9pondants a \ue9t\ue9 men\ue9e sur les march\ue9s de la ville d\u2019El-Fashir la o\uf9 Frundu est un produit populaire sur les march\ue9s du Darfour. Un questionnaire semi-structur\ue9 et une analyse du chi carr\ue9 ont \ue9t\ue9 utilis\ue9s. Il a \ue9t\ue9 constat\ue9 que la p\ue9riode de fermentation du Frundu variait de 3 \ue0 7 jours, selon la temp\ue9rature saisonni\ue8re. La dur\ue9e de conservation du Frundu \ue9tait en moyenne d\u2019un an. Plus de 55% des personnes interrog\ue9es ont reconnu Frundu comme une strat\ue9gie d\u2019adaptation essentielle lorsque la famine a frapp\ue9 le Darfour et la majorit\ue9 des personnes interrog\ue9es connaissaient Frundu. Frundu devient moins populaire au Darfour pour plusieurs raisons ; y compris la difficult\ue9 \ue0 obtenir des graines de Roselle, la concurrence des produits alimentaires les moins chers, en particulier dans la p\ue9riode d\u2018 abondance; et le manque de familiarit\ue9 avec Frundu parmi les jeunes g\ue9n\ue9rations. Pour stimuler sa production, sa transformation et son utilisation, les agriculteurs devraient \ueatre encourag\ue9s \ue0 augmenter la culture de Frundu, parce que Frundu est une plante de cueillettes commerciales au Soudan

Production of intravenous human dengue immunoglobulin from Brazilian-blood donors

Dengue represents an important health problem in Brazil and therefore there is a great need to develop a vaccine or treatment. The neutralization of the dengue virus by a specific antibody can potentially be applied to therapy. The present paper describes, for the first time, the preparation of Immunoglobulin specific for the dengue virus (anti-DENV IgG), collected from screened Brazilian blood-donations. Production was performed using the classic Cohn-Oncley process with minor modifications. The anti-DENV IgG was biochemically and biophysically characterized and fulfilled the requirements defined by the European Pharmacopoeia. The finished product was able to neutralize different virus serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-3), while a commercial IgG collected from American blood donations was found to have low anti-dengue antibody titers. Overall, this anti-DENV IgG represents an important step in the study of the therapeutic potential and safety of a specific antibody that neutralizes the dengue virus in humans