Pentadesma butter (Pentadesma butyracea, sabine, clusiaceae) is an extract of the kernels of tree fruits in West Africa and similar to shea butter. The study of the fatty acid composition, triacylglycerols, sterols and tocopherols of Pentadesma butter was carried out on seeds collected in ten production areas in Benin. The results obtained show that the composition in fatty acids is characterized by the presence of stearic acid and oleic acid, which represent nearly 96% of the total fatty acids. The triacylglycerols profile of the different butters is marked by the overwhelming presence of the triacylglycerols SOS and SOO. The unsaponifiable fraction shows, for the sterolic composition, a predominance of stigmasterol (nearly 68% of the total sterols) whilst the b-tocopherol is the main tocopherol.

Effet des pr etraitements post-r ecolte des amandes de Pentadesma butyracea (Sabine) sur la technologie d'extraction en milieu r eel et la qualit e du beurre.

This study showed that the Pentadesma butyracea butter produced by cottage enterprises in Benin exhibited quality characteristics which are better than that of shea butter. The data generated can be used for a better exploitation of the butter in food and cosmetic industries.

The chemical composition of essential oils obtained from the leaves of Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. and Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng, two Poaceae growing wild in Benin were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The main constituents of Cymbopogon giganteus were cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (19.4%), transp-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (16.4%) and limonene (13.7%). The major components identified in the oil of Cymbopogon schoenanthus were piperitone (68.4%), and δ-2-carene (11.5%). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Cymbopogon giganteus was found to be moderate on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 with MIC equal to 0.32 ± 0.02 mg/mL and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 with MIC equal to 0.64 ± 0.34 mg/mL. This same oil induced the death of 57.84% of ticks at 8µL. Therefore, essential oil of Cymbopogon schoenanthus had a low antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 with MIC equal to 2.63 ± 0.16 mg/mL and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 with MIC equal to 2.63 ± 0.16 mg/mL.

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from leaves of three samples of Aeollanthus pubescens Benth. (Lamiaceae) growing wild in Benin were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. To date the biological functions of A. pubescens essential oils have not been demonstrated scientifically even if this plant is traditionally used by local population in alimentary and medicine. We investigated the chemical composition of A. pubescens essential oils and their antiradical and anti-inflammatory activities. Twenty four compounds were identified and quantified in the essential oils, the major compounds being thymol (63.6 %; 9.5 %; 63.4 %), carvacrol (3.1 %; 51.1 %; 2.1 %), thymyl acetate (9.8 %; 0.8 %; 10.2 %), carvacryl acetate (0.8 %; 6.1 %; 0.7 %), p-cymene (5.6 %; 9.0 %; 5.5 %) and γ-terpinene (6.4 % ; 11.2 %; 6.6 %). The antiradical activity of these oils was found to be high and a low anti-inflammatory activity was observed. Fractionation of a thymol rich sample allowed the identification of the bioactive fractions and their contribution to the efficiency of the whole extract. This study suggests that A. pubescens essential oils may be useful in the food industry where the antioxidants are used to retard the degradation of fatty substances, but also in cosmetics or in the field of herbal medicine, where the radical species are associated with the concept of antiaging.

A cocoa butter equivalent through enzymatic transesterification of Pentadesma butyracea butter with ethyl palmitate in an organic medium using immobilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosa was produced. The effects of several parameters such as initial ratio of ethyl palmitate – Triacylglycerols (TAGs) of P. butyracea, initial water activity of the enzyme preparation, solvent polarity and the enzyme loading were studied. The best result with regard to target TAGs was obtained in nonpolar solvents and low water activity. Thermograms of the products obtained by scanning differential calorimetry were similar to cocoa butter, but with minor differences, due particularly to the presence of trisaturated TAGs. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS An enzymatic strategy for the synthesis of cocoa butter obtained from an African butter from Pentadesma butyracea as starting material was devised. The product so obtained may be used as a cocoa butter substitute.

The physicochemical and phytochemical analyses of honeys (n = 50) from Sudanese, Sudano-Guinean, and Guinean areas of Benin were investigated. Results showed that dark amber is the dominant color. Moisture content ranged from 15.50% to 23.50%, and 72% of honeys respected the Codex Alimentarius recommendation. pH varied between 2.87 and 6.15, and free acidity ranged from 9.00 to 39.00 meq/kg. Electrical conductivity varied from 0.37 to 1.43 mS/cm. The content in fructose varied from 21.67% to 94.21%, and proline content ranged between 306.31 and 1187.93 mg/kg. All physicochemical characteristics varied with the areas. A negative correlation was found between pH and moisture content (r = −0.55; p < 0.01). A positive correlation was established between pH and conductivity (r = 0.79; p < 0.01) and between proline and color (r = 0.44; p < 0.01). Total phenolic content varied between 55.97 and 224.99 mg GAE/100 g, and flavonoid content ranged between 1.43 and 29.81 mg CAE/100 g. Flavonoid was positively correlated with color (r = 0.78; p < 0.01) and proline (r = 0.47; p < 0.01). Tukey's test revealed differences between total phenolic and flavonoid contents of honeys from five areas (p < 0.01). In general, Sudanese and Sudano-Guinean honeys showed potential toward therapeutic applications because of their high phenolic contents.

The results brought back at the end of this work concerned various chemical constituents of P. butyracea materials collected in seven forest galleries in northern of Benin. The phytochemical analysis showed mucilage, coumarins, gallic tannins, flavones, sterols, and saponins, in its leaves. The cyclohexanic fractions realized from petroleum ether extracts and analysed by GC/MS were marked by important rates of 9, 19-cyclolanost-24-en-3 -3-ol (49.3-72.6%), taraxasterol (18.4-30.1%), and friedooleanan-3-one (10.0%). Essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation from P. butyracea and analyzed by GC/MS contained 11 to 38 compounds representing 85.2 to 99.5% of the weight of this volatile extracts essentially rich in sesquiterpene constituents. The essential oils predominant compounds (>10%) identified and recorded independently of the organ studied were -caryophyllene (14.9-77.9%), aromadendrene (43