The antifungal and antiaflatoxinogenic activities of the essential oils (EOs) from the leaves of Cymbopogon schoenanthus, Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon nardus, and their pair combinations were investigated. Antifungal susceptibility and the efficacy of paired combinations of EOs were assessed using agar microdilution and checkerboard methods, respectively. Identification and quantification of chemical components of the EOs were carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-MS and GC-FID), respectively. Aflatoxins were separated and identified by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and then quantified by spectrofluorescence. The EO of C. nardus exhibited the highest inhibitory activity against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The combination of C. citratus and C. nardus and that of C. nardus and C. schoenanthus exhibited a synergistic effect against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus, respectively. Both C. citratus and C. schoenanthus EOs totally inhibited the synthesis of aflatoxin B1 at 1 µL/mL. C. citratus blocked the production of aflatoxins B2 and G2 at 0.5 µL/mL. Both C. citratus and C. schoenanthus totally hampered the production of the aflatoxin G1 at 0.75 µL/mL. The combination of C. citratus and C. schoenanthus completely inhibited the production of the four aflatoxins. The study shows that the combinations can be used to improve their antifungal and antiaflatoxinogenic activities.

Coated skewers are very popular in Ouagadougou. This work aim to assess the microbial quality of coated skewers sold in streets of Ouagadougou and their isolated Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas spp antimicrobial resistance. A total of 30 coated skewers samples were collected from various processors for microbial analysis using standard methods. The antimicrobial resistance test was performed using the agar plate diffusion method. The microbial load varied from 6.0×104 -1.7×108 cfu/g (aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB)), 1.5×10-2.7×107 cfu/g (coliform), 0.0 to 6.1×101 (S. aureus) and 10-25 cfu/g (Pseudomonas spp.). Globally, 70% (21/30), 30% (09/30), 40% (12/30) and 6.67% (02/30) of the analyzed samples were unacceptable based on the load of AMB, coliform, S. aureus and Pseudomonas spp., respectively. Four coated skewers were contaminated by Pseudomonas spp. About susceptibility to antimicrobial agents, 91.67% of S. aureus strains were resistant to ceftazidime and aztreonam, while a low resistance rate was observed for the others antibiotics. Pseudomonas spp strains, were resistant to cotrimoxazol (75%) but sensitive to the other antibiotics. These results highlight poor hygienic conditions of coated skewers preparation in Ouagadougou. These practices contribute to their microbial contamination. Isolated bacteria showed different level of resistance to the tested antibiotics. There is a need of good manufacturing practices to improve the hygienic quality of coated skewers.

In Ouagadougou, grilled meats in the form of pieces and brochettes are very popular and well-known to consumers. The aim of this study was to assess the microbial quality of mutton meat sold in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. A total of 120 samples were collected from 20 meat grillers 60 samples of fresh meat and 60 samples of grilled meat. The sampling was done between the