Formulation of Functional Yogurt by Cofermentation of Milk and Papaya Fruit

This study was carried out to determine the potential of adding Fresh skinned papaya pulp (FSP) into yoghurt for the improvement of the functional properties of yoghurt and the resulting effects of adding PPF on the physicochemical and sensory properties of the product during a 30 days’ storage period at 6°C. Yoghurt samples A (Control), B, C, D and E were respectively produced at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of milk incorporated with papaya fruit. Incorporation of PPF into the yogurt samples resulted in an increase in pH, proteins and carbohydrates and a reduction in titratable acidity as compared to the control. The microbial analysis showed no presence of coliform bacteria. The sensory evaluation result demonstrated significant differences in all the organoleptic attributes analyzed. Sample C with 10% incorporated papaya had the highest overall acceptability score

Geophagy: a survey on the practice of soil consumption in N'Djamena, Chad

# Background Geophagy, the recurrent intentional eating of soil, is well documented in many African countries, but little or nothing is known about this practice in Chad. We conducted a cross-sectional study among inhabitants of N'Djamena to assess: (i) source, type, and form of geophagic soil at purchase; (ii) event, daily frequency, daily cost, and duration of soil eating; (iii) habits at consumption and storage; (iv) specific motivation of soil eating and habit-forming events; (v) expected health benefits and awareness of health risks; and (vi) chance for intervention. # Methods One main food market was randomly selected in each of the 10 districts of N'Djamena. In each food market, 10 vending points of geophagic soil were randomly selected. In each vending point, one geophagist was interviewed. A total of 100 geophagists (residents in N'Djamena) completed a self-reported structured questionnaire on hard copy. Outcomes were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics 20.0 software. # Results The main group of geophagists in Chad is represented by women in childbearing age (30.4 years old). Geophagic soil is generally locally extracted and easily available at the food market (77%). Kaoline is the most consumed soil (63%) followed by laterite (29%). Soil is preferentially consumed granulated (66%) or crushed (23%), but also in powder. Protective effect against cancer and gastritis figures out as main (35%) expected benefit of the practice, followed by protection against nausea and vomiting (25%) and pain (19%). One in 4 geophagists eats soil due to pleasure at taste, and some (2%) just follow the habit without specific purpose of pleasure. Geophagy in Chad is a culturally-transmitted form of pica. Interestingly, even if the vast majority of geophagists (94%) is unaware and uninformed about health risks of soil eating, the 43% were against the option of recommending it. # Conclusions Based on these findings, we recommend awareness campaigns on: (i) the health risk of soil eating, (ii) erroneous beliefs, e.g., the protective effect of geophagic soil against cancer, and (iii) the misleading communication subtended by the vending of soil among food items

Effects of drug policy changes on the evolution of Pfmdr1 and Pfcrt resistance molecular markers of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine in Bangui, Central African Republic

<p>Malaria remains one of the main threats to public health. The emergence of drug resistance is a major obstacle to the fight against malaria. Due to the spread of parasites resistant to antimalarial drugs, treatment guidelines for malaria in the Central African Republic have evolved from monotherapy to artemisinin-based combination therapy. Prediction of decrease or increase in antimalarial susceptibility and fixation of multidrug resistance genotypes is essential in the fight against malaria. To assess the impact of drug policy, we examined molecular changes in the chloroquine-associated Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 resistance marker to monitor the evolution of mutant alleles since the withdrawal of chloroquine from the market following the adoption of Artemisinin based Combined Therapies (ACT) in the Central African Republic. To assess the evolution of these markers, dried blood spots were prepared from 138 children diagnosed positive for plasmodium falciparum malaria by rapid diagnostic test. DNA was then extracted from the blood and genotyped. The chi-square test was used to check for the association between the period of withdrawal and the time of sample analysis. The alleles conferring resistance to chloroquine in the Pfmdr1-86Y genotype showed a significant increase from 1.72% in 2010 to 99.1% in 2021, on the other hand, they was a reduction in the mutant alleles Pfcrt-76T and an increase in mixed infection from 0% in 2010 to 3.48% in 2021 (P<0.05). The results demonstrated a clear increase in the pfmdr1 resistant marker.  </p&gt

Assessing Asymptomatic Malaria Carriage of Plasmodium falciparum and Non-falciparum Species in Children Resident in Nkolbisson, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Malaria is still a threat to public health as it remains the first endemic disease in the world. It is a pervasive parasitic disease in tropical and subtropical regions where asymptomatic malaria infection among humans serves as a significant reservoir for transmission. A rapid and correct diagnosis is considered to be an important strategy in the control of the disease especially in children, who are the most vulnerable group. This study assessed the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria in children at the Nkolbisson health area in Yaoundé, Cameroon. A cross-sectional study design and a convenience sampling plan were used. A total of 127 participants were recruited after informed and signed consent from parents and/or guardians. Blood samples were collected by finger-pricking and venipuncture from children aged 6 months to 10 years and then screened for asymptomatic parasitemia by a rapid diagnostic test (RDT), light microscopy (LM) staining with Giemsa and 18S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for speciation. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software. The study identified 85 children who were positive from the PCR, 95 positive from the RDT and 71 from the LM, revealing a malaria prevalence of 66.9%, 74.8% and 55.9%, respectively. The prevalence was not observed to be dependent on the sex and age group of the participants. Plasmodium falciparum was the predominant species followed by Plasmodium malariae and then Plasmodium ovale. The RDT and LM had the same sensitivity (90.6%) with a slight difference in their specificity (RDT: 57.1%; LM: 54.8%). The RDT also demonstrated higher positive and negative predictive values compared with those of the LM