Anti-glycation agent comprising a Garcinia kola extract or fraction

This invention relates to an anti-glycation agent comprising a Garcinia kola extract or fraction. The compositions comprising the extract or the fraction are used to inhibit the glycation of proteins, in particular the glycation of skin proteins involved in cutaneous aging. This invention also relates to a method for determining the activity of compounds for inhibiting the glycation of cutaneous proteins, in particular for inhibiting the glycation of collagen

Basal fertilizer effects on weed occurrence and rice yield in acid upland soil of West Africa at Bénin

Fertilizers application is required in order to improve rice production in low fertile soils of West Africa. This practice can also increase weed pressure in rice field, thereby reducing yield significantly. Chemotropism of weed was hypothesized to identify nutrient effects on weed abundance and biomass production as well as rice yield for suitable recommendation of basal fertilizer in terre de barre soil agro-ecology. Two years (2005 and 2006) fertilizer omission trial including nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) was conducted in a randomized completed block design, with 4 replications at the Africa Rice Center experiment station, in Benin. The New Rice for Africa named NERICA 4 was sown. Weed dominance-abundance indices and biomass, as well as, rice grain yield were assessed. Results show that Digitaria horizontalis Wild and Mariscus cylindristachyus Steudel were the most dominant weed species in rainfed rice fields on terre de barre soils and the omission of Zn has ability to discriminate among weeds. Base on weed biomass (60.11 – 129.26 g m-2) reduction by 36 – 53% in treatments with Ca, Mg and P omission, the application of N, K and Zn was recommendable for basal fertilizer as integrated weed management practice for boosting rice production on terre de barre soils in West Africa

Bioguided fractionation and isolation of natural inhibitors of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) from Calophyllum flavoramulum

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are associated with many pathogenic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, pathogenesis of diabetes, atherosclerosis or endothelial dysfunction leading to cardiovascular events. Clusiaceae and Calophyllaceae families are rich in compounds like polyphenols which are able to inhibit their formation and are therefore of great interest. Calophyllum flavoramulum Hend. & Wyatt-Sm., a native Malaysian plant, was selected after an anti-AGEs screening conducted on DCM and MeOH extracts from plants belonging to these aforementioned families. In a first study, bioguided fractionation of the MeOH leaf extract of C. flavoramulum afforded amentoflavone, 3-methoxy-2-hydroxyxanthone, 3,4-dihydroxy-tetrahydrofuran-3-carboxylic acid, quercitrin, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, canophyllol and apetalactone. Amentoflavone and 3-methoxy-2-hydroxyxanthone were found to be very potent (IC50 = 0.05 and 0.06 mM respectively), while anti-AGEs activities of quercitrin and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid appeared as moderately strong (IC50 = 0.5 mM). In a second study, a systematic phytochemical study of the cyclohexane, DCM and EtOAc extracts obtained from the same plant was conducted to isolate the following products: flavoramulone, 6-deoxyjacareubin, rheediachromenoxanthone, 2,3-dihydroamentoflavone and benzoic acid. 3,4-Dihydroxy-tetrahydrofuran-3-carboxylic acid and flavoramulone were isolated for the first time and their structures were identified by means of IR, MS and NMR spectrometries

Facteurs predictifs de mortalite par accident vasculaire cerebral (AVC) a la Clinique Neurologique du chu de Fann, Dakar - Senegal

Description Les AVC constituent un problème de santé publique avec une mortalité élevée. Objectif Identifier les facteurs prédictifs de mortalité par accidents vasculaires cérébraux à la Clinique Neurologique du CHU de Fann, Dakar. Méthodes Il s’agit d’une étude rétrospective du 1er Janvier 2001 au 01 Novembre 2003 portant sur des patients avec AVC et ayant eu un examen tomodensitométrique cérébral. Les données sociodémographiques, les antécédents médicaux et chirurgicaux, les signes de gravité associés au tableau neurologique et le pronostic vital ont été collectés. Des analyses uni, bi et multivariées par la régression logistique multiple ont été effectuées. Résultats La population de patients (314) était composée de 56,1% de femmes avec une moyenne d’âge de 61,3 ans (±13,8), un délai moyen d’admission de 8,4 jours (±23,5). Les facteurs de risque d’AVC étaient dominés par l’HTA, l’antécédent d’AVC et le diabète. Les AVCI représentaient 60,2%. Un coma et une HTA étaient associés au tableau neurologique. Soixante dix huit (78) patients sont décédés soit un taux de létalité de 24,8%. Lors de l’analyse de régression logistique multivariée, seuls les antécédents d’AVC et l’existence de coma étaient associés de manière indépendante à la mortalité par AVC. Conclusion Ces résultats démontrent la nécessité d’une amélioration de la prise en charge des patients en unité de soins intensifs et la prévention des récidives d’AVC par une éducation sanitaire des malades.Mots-clés: accident vasculaire cérébral, mortalité, pronostic, Sénégal

Evaluation and optimization of membrane feeding compared to direct feeding as an assay for infectivity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria parasite infectivity to mosquitoes has been measured in a variety of ways and setting, includind direct feeds of and/or membrane feeding blood collected from randomly selected or gametocytemic volunteers. <it>Anopheles gambiae s.l </it>is the main vector responsible of <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>transmission in Bancoumana and represents about 90% of the laboratory findings, whereas <it>Plasmodium malariae </it>and <it>Plasmodium ovale </it>together represent only 10%.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>Between August 1996 and December 1998, direct and membrane feeding methods were compared for the infectivity of children and adolescent gametocyte carriers to anopheline mosquitoes in the village of Bancoumana in Mali. Gametocyte carriers were recruited twice a month through a screening of members of 30 families using Giemsa-stained thick blood smears. F1 generation mosquitoes issued from individual female wild mosquitoes from Bancoumana were reared in a controlled insectary conditions and fed 5% sugar solution in the laboratory in Bamako, until the feeding day when they are starved 12 hours before the feeding experiment. These F1 generation mosquitoes were divided in two groups, one group fed directly on gametocyte carriers and the other fed using membrane feeding method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results from 372 <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>gametocyte carriers showed that children aged 4–9 years were more infectious than adolescents (p = 0.039), especially during the rainy season. Data from 35 carriers showed that mosquitoes which were used for direct feeding were about 1.5 times more likely to feed (p < 0.001) and two times more likely to become infected, if they fed (p < 0.001), than were those which were used for membrane feeding. Overall, infectivity was about three-times higher for direct feeding than for membrane feeding (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although intensity of infectivity was lower for membrane feeding, it could be a surrogate to direct feeding for evaluating transmission-blocking activity of candidate malaria vaccines. An optimization of the method for future trials would involve using about three-times more mosquitoes than would be used for direct feeding.</p

Criblage bioguidé de métabolites secondaires anti-AGEs des feuilles de Calophyllum flavo-ramulum (Clusiaceae)

National audienc

Development of an Electronic Information System for the Management of Laboratory Data of Tuberculosis and Atypical Mycobacteria at the Pasteur Institute in Côte d’Ivoire

Introduction: Tuberculosis remains a public health problem despite all the efforts made to eradicate it. To strengthen the surveillance system for this condition, it is necessary to have a good data management system. Indeed, the use of electronic information systems in data management can improve the quality of data. The objective of this project was to set up a laboratory-specific electronic information system for Mycobacteria and Atypical Tuberculosis. Methods: The design of this laboratory information system required a general understanding of the workflow and the implementation processes in order to generate a realistic model. For the implementation of the system, Java technology was used to develop a web application compatible with the intranet of the company. The impact and the acceptability of the use of the system on the running of the laboratory were evaluated using Likert scale. Results: The system in place has been in operation for about 12 months, in conjunction with the paper registers. Since then, 4811 requests for examinations concerning 6083 samples have been registered. The results of analysis of 3892 patients were printed from the Laboratory information system. In order to produce tuberculosis drug resistance reports and laboratory performance reports, dashboards have been developed. Conclusion: The system has been adopted by the staff because of the time and efficiency gained in managing laboratory data. However, obtaining an optimized tool will only be done in a cycle of sustained improvement