Plants are a major source of active ingredients and are for that fact used to treat many diseases such as fungal infections. The objective of this study was to identify the plants used in traditional medicine to treat fungal diseases in the prefecture of Sotouboua. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted among healers, elderly and knowledgeable villagers. A semi structured questionnaire and pictures showing common and easily recognizable fungal infection symptoms were used to support a live interview. During this study, 37 plant species belonging to 20 families have been identified. Fabaceae were the most represented family (7 species). The most used parts were leaves (43, 24%) followed by the roots (18, 91%). The decoction is the preferred method of preparation while the oral route is the main route of administration.

The chemical contamination of food is among the main public health issues in developing countries. With a view to find new natural bioactive products against fungi responsible for chemical contamination of staple food such as maize, the antifungal activity tests of scopoletin extracted from different components of the cassava root produced in Benin were carried out. The dosage of scopoletin from parts of the root (first skin, second skin, whole root, and flesh) was done by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The scopoletin extract was used to assess the activity of 12 strains (11 strains of maize and a reference strain). The presence of scopoletin was revealed in all components of the cassava root. Scopoletin extracted from the first skin cassava root was the most active both as inhibition of sporulation (52.29 to 87.91%) and the mycelial growth (36.51-80.41%). Scopoletin extract from the cassava root skins showed significant inhibitory activity on the tested strains with fungicide concentration (MFC) between 0.0125 mg/mL and 0.1 mg/mL. The antifungal scopoletin extracted from the cassava root skins may be well beneficial for the fungal control of the storage of maize.

Background: Onions is the most widely consumed vegetable worldwide and is a rich source of phytochemicals and antioxidants responsible for fighting free radicals in the body and preventing diseases Objective: The general objective of the study was to analyze and compare the nutrient and antioxidant properties of red, yellow and white onions in Oyo state, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The research design was experimental. Samples were analyzed chemically according to the official method of analysis described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC). All analysis was carried out in triplicate. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20. ANOVA was used to compare different variables together. Results: The protein content was same in red and white onions. The crude fibre for red onions was 1.1 ±0.12, yellow onions 1.4±0.08 and white onions 1.2 ±0.12. White Onions had the highest total ash content (0.8 ±0.08), followed by yellow onions (0.6 ± 0.08) and red onions (0.6 ±0.05). The carbohydrate (by difference) was 12.2 ±0.09 for red onions, 11.1 ±0.22 for yellow onions and 11.4 ±0.36 for white onions. The reducing sugars for red onions was 1.8 ±0.12, yellow onions had 1.1 ±0.08 while white onions contained 1.2 ±0.12. The total sugars for red onions, yellow and white onions were 2.6 ±0.12, 1.7 ±0.12 and 2.2 ±0.12 respectively. The ascorbic acid (mg/100g) content was 15.8 ± 0.79 for red onions, 11.2 ±0.21 for yellow onions and 12.4 ±0.53 for white onions. Quercetin (mg/g) was highest in red onions (0.32 ±0.02), followed by yellow onions (0.24 ±0.01) and then white onions (0.19±0.01).   Conclusion: The nutrients and antioxidant (quercetin and vitamin c) properties were higher in red onions compared to the other varieties (white and yellow) of onions.

Sexually transmitted infections remain a public health problem almost all around the world. Women of childbearing age frequently have vulvovaginitis. The aim of this work is to evaluate the prevalence of the main germs responsible for vaginal infections in pregnant women who have had their vaginal swabs taken at Bè hospital. We conducted a retrospective study between May 2008 and December 2013, on 126 pregnant women in whom a vaginal swab was performed. We vaginally sampled 126 pregnant women, of whom 90 or 71.43% had vaginal infections. Candida albicans was the most frequently isolated species (47.97%) followed by Gardnerella vaginalis (38.21%). The most affected age group was between 25 and 30 years old. Candida albicans were respectively resistant to miconazole, clotrimazole and econazole. Our study showed that pregnant women are highly exposed to vaginal infections with a predominance of Candida albicans and Gardnerella vaginalis. This shows that it is necessary to do at least one culture of vaginal swabs during pregnancy for each woman.