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Nutritional, sensory, texture, and microbiological load analyses were made of cookies consisting of a partial replacement of wheat flour with plantain (Musa paradisiaca) or cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) flour. There were slight differences in the amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Accordingly, the nutritional values per 100 g of the cookies correspond to 10-14% protein and 19-21% energy of the recommended daily allowance. In contrast, cookies containing either cocoyam or plantain flour have 20% and 30% more fiber, respectively, compared to cookies containing wheat flour alone. Similarly, plantain and cocoyam cookies’ iron and zinc contents were, respectively, 1-16% and 2-9% more than ( p < 0.05 ) the control. The levels of aerobic plate count in the cookies were lower than recommended thresholds for such food products. Those cookies containing 20% and 40% of either plantain or cocoyam flour had comparable sensory, texture, and color quality compared to the control. The effect of intake of plantain and cocoyam cookies is likely to eliminate population mineral deficiencies, particularly iron, and zinc. These results underline the potential of enabling food security crops such as plantain and cocoyam in sustaining cookies production, utilization, nutritional value, and the role of such crops in addressing food and nutrition insecurity.

Helminths in recent times are said to be highly resistant to anthelmintic therapeutics. The level of attention paid to this area is quite low, therefore causing a serious threat to humans and livestock. Helminth’s infection is rampant in developing countries contributing significantly to economic losses and food security in general. This study aims to determine the Anthelmintic properties of methanol extract of Bridelia micrantha (Hochst) Baill leaves. Methods: The anthelmintic activity of helminths was determined by exposure to various concentrations of reference anthelminthic (albendazole, praziquantel and mebendazole) drugs and plant extract. Measurements were taken based on times for death and paralysis. Results: The extract exhibited a concentration-dependent anthelmintic activity against Lumbricus terrestris with significant (p < 0.0001) paralysis and death times when the extract concentrations were 4, 8, 16 and 32 mg/mL respectively. In the presence of 0.125 mg/mL of the extract the reference anthelmintic (albendazole), showed a potentiated activity against the test organism. In the presence of 0.25 mg/mL of the extract the reference anthelmintic (mebendazole), also showed a potentiated activity against the test organism. In the presence of 0.125 and 0.25 mg/ml of the extract, the reference anthelmintic (praziquantel) showed similar results. Conclusion: The extract had anthelmintic activity against L. terrestris and modified the resistance of the organism to albendazole, mebendazole and praziquantel.

The world’s poultry population is on the ascendency as a result of the high demand for poultry product by consumers. In Africa, poultry meat is estimated to represent almost 25% of all meat, whereas in some areas it covers 100% of the animal protein available. The high demand for poultry products has led to an increase in poultry production in almost all African countries including Ghana, with the domestic chicken being the most kept. The sector has been reported to have recorded a drop in production, partly due to infection of birds by diseases, causing organisms including parasites. The study conducted was to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in local and exotic breeds of chickens in Pankrono–Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Two hundred (200) cloacae of slaughtered birds were collected from slaughtering units in the study area and the faecal samples were examined for the eggs/cysts of gastrointestinal parasites using the simple flotation technique and microscopy. Nematodes and cestodes were recovered in 131 (65.5%) of the samples examined with Ascaridia galli recorded as the most prevalent. Some of the nematodes include Ascaridia galli 65 (32.5%), Heterakis gallinarum 38 (19.0%), and Capillaria spp. 29 (14.5%). Some cestodes were Raillietina spp. 19(9.5%) and Choanotaenia infundibulum 5 (2.5%) with Prosthogonimus spp. 3 (1.5%) being the only trematode recovered. The local breeds recorded a percentage prevalence of 76.0%, making them the most susceptible breed to gastrointestinal parasites. The results obtained attest to the reason behind the reduction in poultry production. It is therefore recommended that farmers are educated on farm managerial practices that will reduce the risk of infection and help increase production to meet the demand of consumers.