This study aimed to assess the effects of three plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and chitosan either singly or in combination on maize seeds germination and growth and nutrient uptake. Maize seeds were treated with chitosan and bacterial solution. The germination and growth tests were carried out in square Petri dishes and plastic pots. The combination chitosan-A. lipoferum-P. fluorescens has increased the seeds vigor index up to 36.44% compared to the control. In comparison to the control, P. putida has significantly improved root weight (44.84%) and germinated seed weight (31.39%) whereas chitosan-P. putida has increased the shoot weight (65.67%). For the growth test, the maximal heights (17.66%) were obtained by plants treated with the combination A. lipoferum-P. fluorescens-P. putida. Chitosan-P. fluorescens induced the highest increases of leaves per plant (50.09%), aerial (84.66%), and underground biomass (108.77%) production. The plants inoculated with A. lipoferum had the large leaf areas with an increase of 54.08%, while combinations P. fluorescens-P. putida and chitosan-A. lipoferum improved the aerial and underground dry matter of plants to 26.35% and 18.18%. The nitrogen content of the plants was increased by chitosan-A. lipoferum-P. fluorescens-P. putida with an increasing of 41.61%. The combination of chitosan and PGPR can be used as biological fertilizers to increase maize production.

Our study aimed at assessing the effects of 3 Plants Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) either singly or in combination on maize growth under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Seeds were inoculated with single and combined solution of 10⁸ CFU/ml of Rhizobacteria. Seeds were not inoculated for the control variant. The highest germination percentage was obtained with the combination of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida. This combination also recorded the best vigor index, plants circumferences number of leaves and the leaf area. The maximal heights of plants were observed with seeds treated with Azospirillum lipoferum with an increase of 37.32%. The highest rates of underground dry matter were recorded with A. lipoferum, with an increase of more than 56% comparative to control, while the combination P. fluorescens and P. putida increased the aerial dry matter of 59.11%. Finally, the highest value of the aerial biomass was obtained with the plants treated with the combination of P. fluorescens and P. putida and the highest underground biomass was obtained with plants treated only with A. lipoferum. These results s...

BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic commensal bacterium that mostly colonizes the skin and soft tissues. The pathogenicity of S. aureus is due to both its ability to resist antibiotics, and the production of toxins. Here, we characterize a group of genes responsible for toxin production and antibiotic resistance of S. aureus strains isolated from skin, soft tissue, and bone related infections.ResultsA total of 136 S. aureus strains were collected from five different types of infection: furuncles, pyomyositis, abscesses, Buruli ulcers, and osteomyelitis, from hospital admissions and out-patients in Benin. All strains were resistant to benzyl penicillin, while 25% were resistant to methicillin, and all showed sensitivity to vancomycin. Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) was the most commonly produced virulence factor (70%), followed by staphylococcal enterotoxin B (44%). Exfoliative toxin B was produced by 1.3% of the strains, and was only found in isolates from Buruli ulcers. The tsst-1, sec, and seh genes were rarely detected (≤1%).ConclusionsThis study provides new insight into the prevalence of toxin and antibiotic resistance genes in S. aureus strains responsible for skin, soft tissue, and bone infections. Our results showed that PVL was strongly associated with pyomyositis and osteomyelitis, and that there is a high prevalence of PVL-MRSA skin infections in Benin.

Background: Momordica charantia Linn. (Cucurbitaceae), the wild variety of bitter melon and Morinda lucida Benth (Rubiaceae) were commonly used as a popular folk medicine in Benin. This research focused to measure the antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects of M. charantia and M. lucida leaves and their antidiabetic activity. Methods: Antioxidant activities were evaluated by micro-dilution technique using DPPH free radical scavenging activity and β-carotene-linoleate bleaching assay. The α-amylase inhibition assay was carried out utilizing the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid procedure, while β-glucosidase inhibition assay was demonstrated using as substrate p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (PNPG). HPLC-DAD analysis was realized using a high-performance liquid chromatography systems with diode-array detector, L-3000. Results: Chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, daidzein, rutin, naringin, quercetin, naringenin and genistein were identified as polyphenol compounds in the both plants extract. Dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts showed a good α-amylase inhibitory activity (56.46 ± 1.96% and 58.76 ± 2.74% respectively). M. lucida methanolic extract has shown IC50 of 0.51 ± 0.01 mg/mL, which is the lowest for DPPH scavenging activity. M. lucida dichloromethane extract showed the highest inhibitory capacity of β-glucosidase activity (82.11. ± 2.15%). Conclusion: These results justify some traditional medicinal uses of both plants. The purified fractions could be used in future formulations, possibly incorporated in functional foods to combat certain diseases.

Honey is a very complex biological product. It has great diversity, giving it a multitude of properties, both nutritionally and therapeutically. This study aimed to study the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of honeys collected during the dry and rainy seasons in the different phytogeographical areas of Benin. The study revealed that all honeys had pH, water content, electrical conductivity, ash content, free acidity, total sugars, and reducing sugars, respectively, ranging within 3.65-4.09; 12.07-13.16%; 530.25-698.50 s/cm; 0.42-0.53%; 35.67-40.52 meq/kg; 60-70%; and 58-70%. Moisture content, total sugars, and reducing sugars varied very significantly ( < 0.05 to < 0.001) from one area to another and from one season to another. However, only the production season has a significant influence ( < 0.05) on the pH of the honey. With regard to the ash content, free acidity, and electrical conduction, no significant difference ( > 0.05) between the zones or between the seasons was observed. The results of the microbiological characterization showed that there is heterogeneity in the microbial load. These results have shown that these honeys meet international standards and their characterization will make it possible to obtain Beninese quality labels.