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A culturally acceptable standard recipe was developed for two types of breads using cassava-wheat composite flour. Twenty-nine commercial recipes for tea and sugar breads were collected, average weight of basic ingredients determined and used as test recipe. Wheat flour of test recipe was substituted with high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) at 10 and 20% levels with 0% HQCF as control. Comments from stakeholders, including commercial bakers, were factored into the modification of the test recipe to produce the standardized recipes used in this study. Physical characteristics of bread from the standard recipe were determined by standard methods and sensory evaluation by 105 consumers. Increasing HQCF resulted in decrease in specific volume, crumb color intensity and increase in crust color intensity, browning index, hardness, chewiness, and gumminess. Substitution levels up to 20% HQCF for sugar bread and 10% HQCF for tea bread were established to be culturally acceptable; hence can be commercialized. Practical Application Cassava is produced in Ghana, therefore its use in the production of bread which is commonly consumed in the country will increase the consumption of cassava; hence larger production and increased income for farmers. Jobs will be created for processors who will produce cassava roots into high-quality cassava flour (HQCF). HQCF is also cheaper, therefore production of bread from this standard recipe will be relatively cheaper than using only wheat flour. Since the standard recipe was developed based on a large number of recipes already used and bread produced from it largely accepted, its market potential will be high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The critical role of indigenous crops in the socioeconomic growth of developing nations has necessitated calls for accelerated exploitation of staples. Cocoyam, Xanthosoma sagittifolium, is food for over 400 million people worldwide and is the most consumed aroid in West Africa. However, it remains an underexploited food resource. This study reviews existing literature and also makes use of primary data from interviews with indigenous cocoyam farmers, processors, consumers, and cocoyam scientists in the research Institutes of Ghana, to provide insight into existing nomenclature of the species, indigenous knowledge on food uses, nutritional value, and potential novel food applications of cocoyam. Adaptable technologies in conformity to new trends in food science that could be employed for in‐depth molecular studies and further exploitation of the crop are also discussed. It is envisaged that the provided information would contribute to global efforts aimed at exploiting the full potential of indigenous crops for sustainable food and nutrition security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Both aflatoxin and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cause immune suppression and millions of HIV-infected people in developing countries are chronically exposed to aflatoxin in their diets. We investigated the possible interaction of aflatoxin and HIV on immune suppression by comparing immune parameters in 116 HIV positive and 80 aged-matched HIV negative Ghanaians with high (≥0.91 pmol/mg albumin) and low (<0.91 pmol/mg albumin) aflatoxin B1 albumin adduct (AF-ALB) levels. AF-ALB levels and HIV viral load were measured in plasma and the percentages of leukocyte immunophenotypes and cytokine expression were determined using flow cytometry. The cross-sectional comparisons found that (1) among both HIV positive and negative participants, high AF-ALB was associated with lower perforin expression on CD8+ T-cells (P = .012); (2) HIV positive participants with high AF-ALB had significantly lower percentages of CD4+ T regulatory cells (Tregs; P = .009) and naive CD4+ T cells (P = .029) compared to HIV positive participants with low AF-ALB; and (3) HIV positive participants with high AF-ALB had a significantly reduced percentage of B-cells (P = .03) compared to those with low AFALB. High AF-ALB appeared to accentuate some HIV associated changes in T-cell phenotypes and in B-cells in HIV positive participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]