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The continuous degradation of agroecosystem is a major concern for Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Burkina Faso. To fight against this agroecosystem degradation, SWC such as stone rows, grass strips, zaï, filtering dikes, half-moons and agroforestry had been introduced in the Yatenga Province in Northern Burkina Faso several decades ago. Decades after introduction of SWC practices, a survey was conducted with 120 farmers equally distributed in four villages in the region to learn the farmers’ perceptions of the effects of these practices on their farms. Results revealed a higher proportion of men in the study sites (63%) compared to women. The largest difference in proportions between surveyed men and women was observed in Bogoya where only 22% of the surveyed persons were women. The average years of the respondents across villages was 53 years with 57% of farmers being members of at least one farmer organization. The proportion of educated farmers was 73% and those who received training in SWC techniques represented 36%. Results indicated that white grain sorghum and pearl millet were the main crops produced by 95% of farmers and stone rows and zaï were the dominant SWC techniques used by 77-80% of farmers. Data from the survey indicated a fairly high proportion of big ruminant breeders and small ruminant breeders as well. In fact, 79% of farmers bred big ruminants and 78% bred small ruminants. The main beneficial and direct effects of SWC techniques perceived by farmers was their capacity to improve soil fertility, recover soil, reduce water run-off, and allow good water infiltration in the field, thus improving soil productivity. Farmers pointed out indirect effects of SWC practices on livestock by the regeneration and increase of grass, tree and small shrub biomass available to improve animal growth and health. However, some farmers commented that the long-term use of zaï could lead to soil degradation. The study showed that farmers did perceive the beneficial effects of SWC practices and that greater extension and adoption will only be achieved if they could still receive training, financial and equipment supports.

Erythrina senegalensis DC (Fabaceae) is a plant used in traditional medicine in Burkina Faso (West Africa) to cure several diseases such as malaria, rheumatism, abdominal pain, fibroma and infections which are always accompanied by oxidative stress. This study aimed to highlight the antioxidant activities in dichloromethane (DCM) and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts of E. senegalensis stem bark and roots. We used the 1, 1 diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test and the 12-lipoxygenase I-B inhibitory method. We previously characterized the phytochemical groups by thin layer chromatography and colored reactions in tubes. The extracts in DCM (IC50-root: 5.18 ± 0.06 and IC50-bark: 5.76 ± 0.68) showed strong scavenging activity. However, as a 12-lipoxygenase inhibition, the DCM extracts were almost inactive. The EtOAc extracts from root (IC50-LOX: 7.21 ± 2.31; IC50-DPPH: 7.27 ± 0.13) and from stem bark (IC50-LOX : 4.95 ± 1.12; IC50-DPPH : 11.4 ± 1.3) presented both the radical scavenging and the 12-lipoxygenase inhibitory effects. Polyphenols (flavonoids, tannins), steroids and terpenoids characterized in all extracts may be involved in the observed 12-lipoxygenase inhibition and radical scavenging. Key words: E. senegalensis, antioxidant, 12-lipoxygenase I-B inhibitory.

The continuous degradation of agroecosystems is a major concern for Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Burkina Faso. To fight against this problem, various research projects and programs have implemented S oil and W ater C onservation practices (SWC) in Northern Burkina Faso. The objective of this study was to assess the economic performance of stone rows, grass strips, zai, filtering dikes, half-moons and agroforestry on agricultural production in this part of Burkina Faso. Stochastic Frontier Analysis was used to estimate SWC’s technical efficiency. Results indicated that the cost for SWC construction did not influence white sorghum and pearl millet yield. However, an increase of 1% in the investment for SWC implementation results in a 0.42% increase in groundnut yield and 0.19% in cowpea yield. Although, the half-moon technique had a positive effect on the farmer’s technical efficiency, the effects of stone rows, filtering dikes, zai and grass strips were not significant. Given the tremendous efforts that farmers develop to implement these anti-erosion practices, one recommendation is that policy makers strengthen the technical, financial and equipment supports to farmers for efficient implementation of SWC techniques to ensure sustainability of agricultural production systems in Northern Burkina Faso.

To ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs delivered to patient, certain references of medical prescription are made compulsory by law. This study aimed to check the regulatory compliance of medical prescriptions in the city of Bobo - Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken between June and September 2015 to analyze digitized prescriptions in private pharmacies chosen randomly. The regulatory compliance was checked according to the standards of the country. Prescriptions originated from private health structures (34.11%) and first level public ones (17.54%). The qualification of the prescriber was missing on 68.4% of prescriptions and if mentioned it was the fact of physicians (18.92%), nurses (12.15%) and midwives (0.55%). Omissions were related to the identity of the prescriber and patient characteristics. About 64.2% of prescriptions were unreadable. The study has revealed a low compliance of medical prescriptions in Bobo-Dioulasso that can be improved through the sensitization and retraining of prescribers in this city.