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This is one of the few reports dealing with the antioxidant compounds of these three African whole grains in which the effect of cooking was also evaluated. The data suggested that, to improve their antioxidant properties, specific cultivars should be selected and the cooking procedures carefully considered.

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Gnagnan (Solanum indicum L.) is a spontaneous plant widely distributed in Ivory Coast. During ripening stages, Solanum indicum L. presents different colours (green, yellow and red) and is reported to contain several albeit poorly characterized antioxidant compounds. This paper describes in detail the antioxidant profile (ascorbic acid, carotenoids and polyphenols), antioxidant capacity (FRAP test and Folin-Ciocalteau assay) and the colour changes of Gnagnan berries at different ripening levels. Ascorbic acid content was similar in green and yellow berries, but significantly lower in red ones. Red berries showed a higher content of carotenoids compared to green and yellow ones. Regarding polyphenols, several phenolic acids and flavonoids were found in all berries. The content of caffeoylquinic acids, caffeic acid, flavonol glycosides and naringenin was higher in red berries, while the content of p-coumaric acid and feruloylquinic acids was similar among the three colours. The FRAP assay increased with the ripening process, whereas total polyphenols were similar among berries. Significant differences were found for the colorimetric indexes among products of different degrees of ripening. The present results show the important role of the ripening stage in increasing the antioxidant content of Gnagnan berries.

Anemia and iron deficiency are major public health issues worldwide and particularly in Africa. Reliable information about their prevalence and associated factors is required to allow for effective actions. In this study, we used data from recent (2006-2012) large population health surveys, carried out in 11 French-speaking African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal). Hemoglobin (Hb) was assessed and demographic and health-related parameters were obtained from nation-representative samples of children aged 6-59 months. Anemia (Hb<11g/dL) was found in 72.4% of the children (60.2-87.8%), with no gender difference but a slightly lower incidence in older children (62% at age 4-5 years versus 85% at age 9 months), especially for the more severe forms (2.1% versus 8.7%, respectively). Anemia was only slightly but significantly affected by location (75.5% in rural areas versus 67.3% in towns), income (79.8% in lower quintile of income versus 62.3% in higher quintile), or maternal education (74.1% in children from non-educated mothers versus 62.4% in children whose mothers had secondary education). Nearly 50% of women of child-bearing age had anemia. In the countries that report this information, less than 50% (17-65%) of children consumed iron-rich foods regularly and only 12% (7.4-20.5%) received iron supplementation. Infection and parasitism are known to affect some markers of iron status, because of the inflammatory reaction, thereby making the diagnosis of iron deficiency difficult. In the study countries, acute respiratory diseases and diarrhea affected 6.2 and 15.6% of children aged between 6 and 59 months, respectively; their distribution according to age and location is very different from the one of anemia, which is also the case for the distribution of malaria. It is thus likely that a large part of the anemia observed in young children is due to iron deficiency, although further research is needed to confirm this. This fully justifies the nationwide programs of iron fortification of flour, currently undergoing in most countries of French-speaking Africa. Their formal evaluation is still pending but the initial data suggest some efficacy, although far from optimal. It is thus likely that a more holistic approach, including iron fortification, actions against undernutrition and parasitism in children, and actions in favor of improving young women's iron and nutritional status, together with appropriate communication and education objectives, would be more effective.

Integrating information on the glycemic index (GI) and the glycemic load (GL) of diet is limited in Côte d'Ivoire because of the lack of data. Thus, this study was undertaking for the local management and prevention of diabetes mellitus and its complications based on nutritional data (GI and GL values). The study included ten healthy subjects with 7 males, 3 females (28 ± 2 years on average age and 20.5 ± 1.7 on average BMI). Participants tested three different meals with equal carbohydrate load (50 g). Blood samples were obtained at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min before and after consumption for glucose levels determination. GIs were determined using a standard method with glucose as reference food and data were used for GLs calculating. Data showed that GIs value of pounded yam with eggplant sauce and cassava paste with granulates palm nut sauce were high ranging to 94 to 86 respectively while rice with groundnut sauce, have a low GI (GI = 45). Nevertheless, the GLs of the all the test foods are high with the values of 47, 43 and 23 (g) for pounded yam with eggplant sauce, cassava paste with granulates palm nut sauce and rice with groundnut sauce respectively. According to GIs and GLs data, the three test foods must be consumed moderately in a diet. So, it is important to associate GL data to GI data of Ivorian traditional foods for the management and the prevention of diabetes mellitus in Côte d'Ivoire and in others countries sharing the same food tradition.

Total starch (TS) and resistant starch (RS) contents in pasty edible product of mealy and hard cooking tubers of three yam varieties and four cassava varieties were determined to evaluate their contribution in their cooking quality. TS and RS contents appeared as the main components in determining yam cooking quality. Mealy cooking yam varieties were characterized by a significant higher TS content (75.2 ± 7.7 g/100 g d.m.) and lower RS content (13.8 ± 3.4 g/100 g d.m.) than hard cooking yam varieties, which, in contrast, contained less TS (61.7 ± 12.1 g/100 g d.m.) and particularly high RS (21.8 ± 9.9 g/100 g d.m.), possibly as a consequence of the prevalence of large granules (35-40 μm) observed by light microscope. Conversely, TS and RS contents appeared not determinant on the cooking quality of cassava. Moreover, higher amylose contents were associated with substantially elevated percentages of RS in yam and cassava, and high RS content in samples modulates their pasting properties by reducing the peak viscosity and the breakdown and requiring higher temperature and longer time to the peak.