Search

Study of rattan production-to-consumption system in the district of Abidjan (South Côte dIvoire). The domestication of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) requires an evaluation of their social and economical potentials in the target zones. The present work deals with this problematic in the district of Abidjan (South Côte dIvoire) in order to suggest for this zone, a community-based forest management plan, allowing a conservation and sustainable exploitation of rattan, used as plant model. From interviews and printed forms addressed to 42 rural families composed of about 200 persons, 30 rattan collectors, 12 rattan raw stems traders, 187 craftsmen distributed among 60 workroom and ten urban families (about 70 persons) we determine the commercial channels and evaluate the economic profit of rattan exploitation for each social category involved. We also note the different problems encountered by rattan operators. Data show that rattan trade is profitable at both rural and urban levels, suggesting that this plant should be a NWFP biological model for the implementation of rural forests management and sustainable exploitation program. Then we showed that the exploitation of 250 bunches used for furniture production generated a global income equalled 2830 or 2877 US $ according to harvester (farmer or collector from town). Of this global income, 375US $ (13.03%) are owned by farmers, 696 (24.59%) by harvesters, 929 (32.39%) or 561 (19.82%) by canes wholesalers, and 1573 (54.67 or 55.58%, according the case) by craftsmen. Nevertheless, many legislative, institutional, and logistic constraints threat presently the stability and expansion of rattan industry. From obtained data, suggestions are made either for forests management and sustainable exploitation strategies and a best organisation of rattan channels.

Effect of sowing dates on the agronomic performance of the intercrops: Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. (Cucurbitaceae) and Manihot esculenta Crantz (Euphorbiaceae). Description of the subject. The intercropping system is a beneficial method, which is widely used in tropical areas for sustainable soil fertility management, and has been found to improve both the yields of traditional agriculture and the income of small producers. Objectives. The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the effect of associated culture and pure culture of cucurbit Lagenaria siceraria creeping plant and the variety of cassava Manihot esculenta var. 'Bonoua Blanc' upright plant on the agronomic performance of each crop. Method. An experiment was established in randomized complete block design with three replicates per treatment. The treatments compared were firstly, associated crops M. esculenta var. 'Bonoua Blanc' / L. siceraria with cucurbit seedlings at 0 days (CAT0), 15 days (CAT15), 30 days (CAT30) and 45 days (CAT45) after cassava; secondly, pure cultures of cucurbit on the same dates as for associated crops (CPT0, CPT15, CPT30 and CPT45), and thirdly, a pure culture of cassava at 0 days (CP). Nine agronomic characteristics were analyzed in cucurbit and eight in cassava. Results. The agronomic parameters evaluated were the yield components of cassava, which varied with the increase in seedling time of cucurbit. However, the performance of cucurbit decreased with the increase in seedlings either in the associated crop or in pure culture. Performance also decreased sharply for the same sowing dates in pure culture. Despite high productivity when cucurbit was simultaneously planted with cassava, it remained low compared to the cucurbit pure crop. Conclusions. Intercropping of cucurbit L. siceraria and cassava M. esculenta was not found to be beneficial to the yield of the individual crops. However, the use of cucurbit as an intercropping cover crop helps to conserve soil moisture and to manage arable land and weeds for the benefit of cassava crops.

Macaranga barteri is a plant used in traditional medicine to treat many illnesses. Previous studies showed the efficacy of the aqueous extract of leaf of this plant (AEMb) in the treatment of gastric ulcer within the dose range of 125-500 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). This study aims at evaluating the safety of AEMb on anthropometric and haematological parameters in wistar rats. Seventy rats were divided into seven groups of ten rats each, including five males and five females. The control group was repeatedly administered by gavage with distilled water at 1 ml/100 g for 28 days while test groups 2, 3, 4 and 5, were repeatedly gavaged with AEMb at the doses of 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg b.w. respectively. As for satellites (groups 6 and 7), they received daily and respectively distilled water at 1 ml/100 g b.w. and AEMb at the dose of 1000 mg/kg b.w. The results showed that AEMb caused no significant changes in the behaviour of rats and the weight of the organs removed (kidneys, liver, spleen, and heart) and their relative weights at the end of the 28 days of treatment. However, the body weight and the amount of food consumed by animals treated with AEMb at the doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg b.w. increased significantly ( p  < 0.05) from the third week compared to control group. Haematological analysis revealed a non-significant increase ( p  > 0.05) in leukocyte lineage and platelet level in female rats at the studied doses. However, a significant ( p  < 0.05) increase in platelet level was recorded in male rats at 1000 mg/kg b.w. A significant ( p  < 0.05) increase in erythrocyte and hemoglobin levels at the doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg b.w. in treated animals was also revealed. In conclusion, repeated administration of AEMb over 28 days to rats was safe on leucocyte lineage and most of erythrocyte indices at doses ranging from 125 to 1000 mg/kg b.w. Nevertheless, the use of this extract caused a transient increase of erythrocyte, hemoglobin and platelet levels 2 weeks after the end of AEMb administration, but these effects disappeared. So, the subacute oral administration of AEMb revealed few potential toxic effects overall., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestsThe authors have not declared any conflict of interests., (© Korean Society of Toxicology 2020.)

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the type of care that can be achieved and the epidemiological profile of patients attending the 3 public dental practices in the Haut-Sassandra region, in Côte d'Ivoire. The data collection concerned socio-demographic characteristics, reason for consultation, oral hygiene, dental condition, malocclusions and the availability of equipment for the performance of procedures. The 400 patients observed (51.5% male) were aged 16.0 to 86.0 years (mean=35.5 years; SD=13.1 years). The main reasons for consultation were pain (91.5%) and aesthetics (23.5%). Oral hygiene was insufficient for 36.8% of subjects. Oral conditions were malocclusions (12.8%), caries (98.7%) and edentulous (65.7%) with only 11.8% with prosthesis. The average DMFT index was 9.3. Only extractions and resin attached prostheses were possible in all 3 health facilities. Preventive dentistry (sealent, fluoridation), dentofacial orthopedics and implantology were not available in any dental practice. The most frequently performed acts were extractions (74.5%). The results of this study highlight the need for oral health planning with service equipment and awareness among populations who shouldn't wait until they are in pain to consult., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: the authors declare no potential conflict of interests., (©Copyright: the Author(s), 2019.)

Researches documenting comprehensively the prevalence of seed vivipary in relation to phenology, as well as its impact on production are scant. This article reports the results of investigations carried out during four cropping seasons to quantitatively document seed vivipary in the oleaginous bottle gourd ( Lagenaria siceraria ). Field experiments were conducted during the first and second cropping season of 2014 and 2015 at the experimental station of Nangui Abrogoua University (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire). The assessment of the prevalence of seed vivipary was carried out using 185 L. siceraria accessions collected in different ecological zones of Côte d'Ivoire. To examine the influence of fruit maturation time on seed vivipary, four accessions (two viviparous and two non-viviparous) were cropped and harvested at 30 and 50 days after fertilization (DAF), complete whiteness of plants (CPW) and after 60 days of storage of fruits harvested on plants completely withered (CPWS). Finally, a comparative analysis of seed yield and its main components was conducted using four accessions including two highly viviparous and two non-viviparous. The results on seed vivipary prevalence showed that the oleaginous form of L. siceraria is highly susceptible and allowed the classification of the 185 accessions analyzed into three groups: non-viviparous (2.16%), viviparous (89.19%) and highly viviparous accessions (8.65%). No precocious seed germination was observed in non-viviparous accessions during fruit maturation stage. The fruits of highly viviparous accessions harvested at 30 DAF showed no precocious seed germination while 3.35-17.89% of fruits bearing viviparous seed were observed at 50 DAF. Plants from highly viviparous fruits showed significantly low yields compared those from non-viviparous fruits. These results suggested that an efficient control of seed vivipary allowing a quantitative and qualitative improvement of yield in the oilseed bottle gourd can be ensured by the selection of vivipary-tolerant genotypes and appropriate planning of the harvest time., (© 2019 The Authors.)

Background: Access to useful plants is a growing problem in Africa, increased by the loss of natural vegetation and the erosion of traditional knowledge. Ethnobotany contributes to promote these indigenous knowledge. Despite the large diversity of ethnic groups in Côte d'Ivoire, few ethnomedicine researches have targeted these groups. Among the great Akan group, the Ehotile people are one of the smallest and oldest ethnic group around the Aby Lagoon. The goal of this study was to analyze the level of knowledge and use of medicinal plants by the Ehotile people, and moreover, contribute to build a database about useful plants of first Ivorian people., Methods: Two sets of surveys were conducted in four Ehotile villages: a house-to-house freelist interview and an individual walk-in-the woods interview with some key informants identified by the community. Frequency of citation, Smith's index, Use value and Informant Consensus Factor were used to estimate the local knowledge of medicinal plants., Results: Medicinal plants are widely used by Ehotile people. Some were used in addition to modern prescriptions while for some disorders commonly called "African diseases" only plants are used. 123 species employed in the treatment of 57 diseases were listed. Specifically, the most common indications included malaria, sexual asthenia, troubles linked to pregnancy, dysmenorrhoea and haemorrhoids. Analysis of freelists suggested that Ehotile people has a good knowledge of medicinal plants and the most salient included Harungana madagascariensis, Alstonia boonei, Ocimum gratissimum and Xylopia acutiflora. Regarding the consensus among key informants, ICF values were low (<0.5), however category of infectious and parasitic diseases obtained the best agreement (ICF = 0.42). Following the local experts, 4 types of plants availability were distinguished: Abundant plants easy to collect, abundant plants difficult to harvest, scarce plants and endangered plants., Conclusions: Despite the virtual disappearance of natural formations in Ehotile land, medicinal plants are important in the Ehotile health system. Medicinal plants are known and used alone or in addition to medical prescriptions to treat several ailments. However, some of them are becoming rare, and it is feared that this scarcity will result in the inevitable loss of associated knowledge and practices.