No abstract

The current growing attractiveness of natural dyes around the world is a consequence of the increasing rejection of synthetic dyes whose use is increasingly criticized. The great interest in natural pigments from herbal origin such as cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) is due to their biological properties and their health benefits. However, the chemical instability of C3G during processing and storage and its low bioavailability limits its food application. Nanoencapsulation technology using appropriate nanocarriers is revolutionizing the use of anthocyanin, including C3G. Owing to the chemical stability and functional benefits that this new nanotechnology provides to the latter, its industrial application is now extending to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields. This review focuses on the various nanoencapsulation techniques used and the chemical and biological benefits induced to C3G.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is an important commodity in West Africa. Its seeds are a valuable source of protein, vitamins, and income for humans. However, cowpea cultivation in Benin faces climatic constraints such as water stress caused by a prolonged absence of rain during the rainy season. Thus, this work aims at selecting cowpea varieties that can be cultivated in times of drought without compromising their yields and yield components. Twenty cowpea varieties were used, including 17 improved cultivars and 3 landraces. The experiment was conducted at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Benin and laid at a split-plot design with four replicates. Each genotype was exposed to three water treatments: fully irrigated control, vegetative stress (when plants were 23 days old, drought stress was imposed for 30 days), and reproductive stress (once the first flowers were observed, water stress was imposed for 30 days). The results showed that photochemical yield, chlorophyll content, and relative water content were reduced under water deficit at the vegetative and reproductive stages. But there were no significant differences in proline content among cowpea varieties. Agronomic traits such as number of days to flowering, number of pods, yield per plant, the weight of 100 seeds, and harvest time showed significant differences under water stress. Overall, the landraces and cultivars including Kpodjiguegue, KVX 61-1, and IT 06-K-242-3 were the most tolerant to drought stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages and could potentially be used in breeding programs to improve drought tolerance of cowpeas.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to improve the growth performance of the juvenile catfish (Clarias gariepinus) by using feed formula derived from local feed ingredients. Methodology and results: Three diets with formulas differing in the feed ingredients and biological process were tested. These were: diet 1 (Soybean meal, Fish meal, Moringa leaf meal, Roasted corn meal), diet 2 (Soybean meal, Fish meal, Moringa leaf meal, Roasted corn meal, Corn malt meal) and diet 3 (Soybean meal, Fish meal, Moringa leaf meal, Roasted corn meal, Corn malt meal, Kpètè-kpètè (traditional starter of opaque African beer). Coppens® is an imported efficient feed that was used as control. The fish were fed twice daily for a rearing period of 35 days in a randomized tree blocks. Results of the study showed an overall good survival rate and growth performance of the fish. All the parameters assessed showed significant better values in fish fed with control diet than formulated diets. However, there was no significant difference between values survival rate, weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of the formulated diets. Conclusions and application of results: Results indicated that all the three diets can be used as a fishmeal but their efficiency still needs to be improved. Though with low crude protein ratio (p˂0.05), diet 3 exhibits the same results as the other diets probably because it is fermented and incorporated with malted corn grain. Incorporation of malted cereal flour in fish feeds can improve their efficiency.

In Benin, P. butyracea fruit pulp undergoes significant post-harvest loss due to its low valorization. The collected fruits in five parklands from a survey of transformer's perception were characterized through their visual observations, the determination of their dimensions and pulp proportions. The nutritional value of pulp was evaluated through its chemical characterization. The results of this study revealed that four shapes (ellipsoid, globular, ovoid, ellipsoid twisted) identify the physical aspect of P. butyracea fruits in the P. butyracea parklands. The average length, diameter at the equator, mass and pulp proportion of fruits were 130.93 mm, 86.98 mm, 125.63 g and 35.79%, respectively. The physicochemical characterization showed that the P. butyracea fruit pulp contained 3.37–3.41 pH, 3.33–4.61% protein, 20.37–20.78% fiber, 2.78–3.57% ash, 6.31–6.51% crude lipid, 85.77–86.47% moisture, 21.54–23.22 mg/mL total phenolics, 0.73–1.03% titratable acidity, 65.10–66.94% carbohydrates, 335.75–338.99 kcal calorie and minerals (Ca, Fe, Zn, Mn). The antioxidant activity result showed that the P. butyracea fruit pulp is a valuable source of antioxidant pigments. Faecal coliforms are not detected in pulps and the aerobic mesophilic bacteria, yeasts and moulds, and Staphylococcus aureus were below detection level in P. butyracea fruit pulps.

No abstract

A wide range of traditional fermented foods is produced and prized in communities in developing countries. Due to the generation of beneficial microorganisms, nutritional and bioactive compounds such as organic acids, antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, high bioavailable proteins, peptides, mannans, β-glucans and amino-acids, fermentation has been considered one of most vital food processing techniques to improve product shelf life, quality, and safety. The presented overview of scientific research emphasizes the microflora potential and multifold advantageous effects of the fermented foods traditionally produced in the Benin Republic. Several innovative scientific investigations on fermentation and fermented products, together with indigenous knowledge and professional experience, have been explored and discussed. The characterization of microbiological aspects of these foods revealed that they present economic, nutritional, and health advantages with essential prebiotics and probiotics for the indigenous communities. Furthermore, traditional fermented foods have high safety and quality. However, the industrial way is suggested to limit the eventual adverse contaminations.

P.butyracea butter, produced by different traditional methods, is often stored for further use in different types of packaging which may affect its quality. The present work aims to evaluate the effect of the production method and the type of packaging used on the physicochemical and microbiological quality of butter during storage. The extraction of Pentadesma butter was first carried out through production monitoring in three repetitions by three different butter producers according to the two most used traditional production methods. Then, butter from production was stored for three months in four types of packaging (aluminium bowls, calabashes, baskets, and black polyethylene bags) in the production environment. The microbiological and physicochemical quality of the stored butter was assessed at 0, 30, 60, and 90 days using normative reference methods. The production method and the type of packaging used had a significant effect on the variation of free fatty acid content (1.54 ± 0.07%–2.6 ± 0.2%), peroxide value (0.96 ± 0.09°meq·O2/Kg–3.9 ± 0.7°meq·O2/Kg), and colour of the butter during storage. In contrast, only the type of packaging material influenced the microbiological characteristics of the butter during storage. After three months of storage, the yeast and mould load was out of the standard range in all packages, i.e., 2.53 ± 0.4 log°CFU/g, 2.9 ± 0.2 log°CFU/g, 4.67 ± 0.2 log°CFU/g, and 1.4 ± 0.2 log°CFU/g for aluminium bowls, calabashes, baskets, and black polyethylene bags, respectively. The aerobic mesophilic germ load was within the standard in black polyethylene bags (3.22 ± 0.08 log°CFU/g), in contrast to the other packages (4.23 ± 0.08 log°CFU/g–6.45 ± 0.13 log°CFU/g). This shows that black polyethylene bags are the best packaging to guarantee the quality of butter. It is important to continue this investigation by storing butter for a longer period of time with more appropriate packaging.