Background. Plant medicine is the oldest form of health care known to mankind; hence, studies on their safety for use are essential for the control of adverse drug effects. In Benin, Caesalpinia bonduc is one of many medicinal plants used as aphrodisiac, and for treatment of various ailments including prostatic hyperplasia. Despite its numerous ethnomedicinal benefits, toxicological information associated with its chronic use is currently limited. Objective. The present study therefore assessed the toxicity of an ethanolic root extract of Caesalpinia bonduc in Wistar rats. Methods. Caesalpinia bonduc root extract was administered by oral gavage at doses of 31.25, 125, and 500 mg/kg/day for 90 days to male Wistar rats, after which body weight changes, food consumption, urinary parameters, hematological and blood biochemical parameters, organ weights changes, gross pathology, and histopathology of vital organs were assessed. Results. There were no death or abnormal clinical signs, no significant changes in body weight gain or urinary parameters, and no changes in necropsy and histopathology findings of vital organs associated with extract treatment. However, some indices such as erythrocytes, total cholesterol, and aspartate amino transferase increased in rats treated with high doses of the extract, as well as relative weight of testes, followed by a decrease in food intake and prostate relative weight. Conclusion. The results indicate that an ethanolic root extract of Caesalpinia bonduc does not cause significant adverse effects and suggest its tolerability up to 500 mg/kg for daily administration of 90 days.

The need for more precise information on the effect of dry season on fish parasite communities in Benin lead us to undergo a focus during this season in one of the major sites of collection fry by fish farmers.Metazoan parasites were then inventoried in 166 specimens of catfishes which constituted of C larias gariepinus, Clarias ebriensis, Synodontis schall, Synodontis nigrita, and Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Teleostei: Siluridae). Those fishes were collected from fishermen of Agonlin-Lowé at the side of Oueme River in south Benin from November 2011 to March 2012. In total, 12 parasite species were listed comprising three Monogena (Gyrodactylus sp., Synodontella sp., and Protoancylodiscoides chrysichthes), three Cestoda (Stoeksia pujehuni, Lytocestus sp., and Cestode indeterminate), five Nematoda (Paracamallanus cyathopharynx, Procamallanus laevionchus, Cithariniella petterae, Synodontisia thelastomoides, and nematode indeterminate), and one indeterminated Copepod species. Total infestation rate varied between 83.87 and 100% for the different fish species. This was high but independent of fish sex (χ(2) = 1.669, df = 4, nonsignificant). The highest mean intensity and mean abundance were, respectively, 44 and 13.33. Monogenea and Nematoda have elevated frequency of dominance, and their presence in the host is significantly correlated (r = -0.999; p < 0.05). Clariids were highly infected by Nematoda. Except for P. laevionchus and Proteoancylodiscoides, respectively, in C. gariepinus and in C. nigrodigitatus, the parasites showed clumped distribution. The component community diversity, as measured by the Shannon index (H'), revealed that S. schall had the most parasite diversity.

Fish culture is the best alternative to fill the gap between natural fish catches and estimated needs of populations in animal protein consumption. In West Africa, this goal required to have suitable fishes for aquaculture which are Clariidae and Tilapia. Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae) fetches a higher price than tilapias as it can be sold alive at the market but a high infestation by Henneguya leads to decrease this commercial value. Those reasons lead us to perform studies on seasonal variations, histopathological aspects and life cycle of Henneguya sp. infecting the intestine of C. gariepinus using light and electron microscope. From November 2011 to December 2012, 339 specimens were collected from Ouémé River (Benin) and examined. An overall prevalence of 7.37 % was recorded for plasmodia of Henneguya sp. Parasite occurrence did not vary significantly between seasons (χ(2) = 12.235; df = 3; p > 0.05), nor sexes (χ(2) = 2.992; df = 7; p > 0.05) while differences were significant between classes of weight (χ(2) = 39.929; df = 5; p < 0.05). The highest prevalence was recorded in host ranging from 300 to 374 g. Histopathological analysis showed that the mass continuous development of the plasmodium produced thickening of the intestine wall and compressed neighboring tissues and destroyed villi and smooth muscle layers. The stages of the parasite development including sporogenesis, capsulogenesis, and valvogenesis were asynchronous. Investigations are still running by molecular approaches in order to identify accurately this species.

Tél: (00229)97645885). RESUMEUn relevé parasitaire a été réalisé en 2016 afin de mieux comprendre la présence, la répartition et la diversité de la faune parasitaire chez les espèces piscicoles commerciales, Clarias gariepinus et Oreochromis niloticus provenant des whédos du delta supérieur de l'Ouémé au sud du Bénin. L'échantillonnage a été réalisé dans les trois communes du haut delta de l'Ouémé (Bonou, Ouinhi, Zagnanado). Trente whédos artificiels ont été sélectionnés à raison de dix par commune. Un total de 757 poissons (417 C. gariepinus et 340 Oreochromis niloticus) ont été collectés durant les deux périodes de crue et de décrue du fleuve Ouémé et ont été examinés pour des parasites en utilisant des techniques parasitologiques de routine. Onze (11) taxons parasites ont été observés chez les deux espèces hôtes : 6 taxons sont présents chez Oreochromis niloticus et 7 chez Clarias gariepinus. Deux taxons, Clinostomum sp. et Gryporhynchidae, sont observés chez les deux espèces hôtes. La parasitofaune de O. niloticus est dominée par des taxons à transmission par stade libre, tandis que les parasites à transmission par stade libre et les parasites à transmission trophique sont également représentés chez C. gariepinus. Les branchies sont très faiblement parasitées, mais fortement par des monogènes. L'intestin est fortement parasité, principalement par les nématodes et les trématodes. En général, l'occurrence et la diversité des parasites chez ces espèces de poissons mettent en évidence la probabilité d'une résurgence de pathologies dans les systèmes aquacoles étudiés. Ceci appelle à une sensibilisation des agriculteurs, des pisciculteurs, des fournisseurs de services et des chercheurs pour une meilleure gestion de la santé des poissons. © 2019 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved Mots clés: Métazoaires parasites, Clarias gariepinus, Oreochromis niloticus, Whédos, Sud Bénin. M. H. SÈDOGBO et al. / Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 13(2): 983-997, 2019 984 Metazoan parasite fauna of Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae) and Oreochromis niloticus (Cichlidae), two fishes from whédos around the upper delta of Ouémé river in southern BeninABSTRACT An intensive parasite survey was conducted in 2016 to get more information the occurrence of parasite fauna, its distribution and diversity in the commercial cultured fish species, Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus, from whédos of Ouémé upper delta in south Benin. Sampling was carried out in the three communes of the upper delta of Ouémé (Bonou, Ouinhi, Zagnanado). Thirty artificial whedos were selected at the rate of ten per commune. A total of 757 fish (417 C. gariepinus and 340 O. niloticus) were collected during flood and recession periods of Ouémé river and were examined for parasites using routine parasitological technics.The survey yielded 11 parasite taxon: 6 from Oreochromis niloticus and seven from Clarias gariepinus. Two taxon, Clinostomum sp. and Gryporhynchidae, were both parasites of the two fish hosts. O. niloticus was dominated by free-living stag...

Mature female specimens of the catfish Clarias gariepinus originating from Ouémé River (Benin) were investigated into ovarian myxozoan parasites. Spores of Myxobolus sp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) were found encrusted in the whitish color oocytes which present fat dot aspect in the gonads. The pathological investigation by electron microscopy revealed that maturation and multiplication of spores induced lytic action, deformation and dysfunction of the oocyte internal structures. No host inflammatory reaction was observed, while yolk, lipid, mitochondria, and other oocyte components were degenerated inducing empty area in the oocyte and could lead to castration in case of wide infestation. The mean prevalence was 19.79%. No significant difference was observed within seasonal prevalence (χ(2) = 1.771; df = 3; p > 0.05). Though the host length classes ranging from 35 to 39 cm and 40 to 45 cm were more infected, difference was not significant (χ(2) = 2.273; df = 4; p > 0.05) within them. The spores are ovoid in shape with two polar capsules which are equal in size, pyriform, and converging in anterior part of spore with four to five polar filament turns. Spore body are (11.47 ± 0.67) × (8.19 ± 0.52) μm length by width while polar capsule size are (4.24 ± 0.25) × (3.07 ± 0.28) μm and located in the first third portion of the spore. The molecular approaches are still running for accurate identification of this parasite.

This study is the first to provide information on the parasite fauna of Sardinella maderensis along the coasts of Benin and Ghana, and the first to investigate the potential use of parasites as biological tags in fish population studies in the area. It may thus serve as a starting point for upcoming studies. From February to June 2021, a total of 200 S. maderensis were sampled from the fishing port of Cotonou (Benin) and the Elmina landing site (Ghana). The prevalence and abundance of each parasite were recorded. The following are the outcomes of this study: Parasite species, such as Parahemiurus merus, Mazocraeoides sp. and Hysterothylacium fortalezae, were recorded along the coasts of Benin and Ghana, while Anisakis sp(p). and Tentacularia coryphaenae were only recorded along the coast of Benin. Parahemiurus merus was the most prevalent and abundant among all the parasites recorded. Anisakis sp(p). and T. coryphaenae were selected as having potential in the stock identification of S. maderensis. Both parasites were only recorded along the coast of Benin at a low prevalence. As a result, examinations of more S. maderensis from each location for these parasites may justify their use in stock identification studies.