Use Patterns, Knowledge Diversity and Drivers for the Cultivation of the Miracle Plant [ (Schumach & Thonn.) Daniell] in Benin and Ghana.

Despite the growing interest in the miracle plant worldwide due to its numerous applications, the threats and the wild harvest of the species hamper its sustainable utilisation. Moreover, traditional knowledge so far documented on the species is limited to a narrow geographical coverage of its natural distribution range, which is West and Central Africa. This study analysed the use variation and knowledge acquisition pattern of the miracle plant among West African sociolinguistic groups and deciphered the drivers of populations' willingness and readiness to engage in cultivating the species.

Comparative analysis of management practices and end-users' desired breeding traits in the miracle plant [Synsepalum dulcificum (Schumach & Thonn.) Daniell] across ecological zones and sociolinguistic groups in West Africa.

Background: Understanding end-users' preferred breeding traits and plant management practices is fundamental in defining sound breeding objectives and implementing a successful plant improvement programme. Since such knowledge is lacking for Synsepalum dulcificum, a worldwide promising orphan fruit tree species, we assessed the interrelationships among socio-demography, ecology, management practices, diversity and ranking of desired breeding traits by end-users of the species (farmers, final consumers and processing companies) in West Africa.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews, field-visits and focus groups were combined to interview a total of 300 farmers and final consumers belonging to six sociolinguistic groups sampled from three ecological zones of Benin and Ghana.

Phenotypic variation, functional traits repeatability and core collection inference in Synsepalum dulcificum (Schumach & Thonn.) Daniell reveals the Dahomey Gap as a centre of diversity.

The miracle plant Synsepalum dulcificum is a multipurpose natural sweetener and a promising West African orphan fruit shrub candidate for genetic improvement. Unfortunately, basic knowledge such as phenotypic variation and inheritance estimates required for implementing a breeding program are still lacking. A set of 203 accessions were sampled in two habitats from seven populations spread across the Dahomey Gap (DG) and the Upper Guinea forest (UG) in West Africa.

Broad Diversity of Ralstonia solanacearum Strains in Cameroon.

In 2005, an extensive survey of bacterial wilt in Cameroon collected 110 strains of Ralstonia solanacearum from wilting tomato, potato, pepper, huckleberry (Solanum scabrum), sesame, and amaranth. The genetic diversity and phylogeny of selected strains from Cameroon were assessed by multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), race 3/biovar 2-specific PCR, and sequence analyses of the mutS and egl genes. These data were compared with those from 33 reference strains covering the known diversity within the R.

Comparison of the chemopreventive efficacies of garlic powders with different alliin contents against aflatoxin B1 carcinogenicity in rats.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is well known for its beneficial effects on health and particularly for its chemopreventive potential against cancer. The present study was designed to compare the chemopreventive efficacies of several garlic powders with various levels of alliin, a precursor of active sulfur compounds. For this purpose we used the medium-term hepatocarcinogenesis protocol (resistant hepatocyte model), which allows the detection of preneoplasic foci expressing the placental form of glutathione S-transferase (GST-P) as an end-point.

Effects of garlic powders with varying alliin contents on hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes in rats.

The anticarcinogenic effect of garlic has been demonstrated in both epidemiologic and experimental studies. In this study, possible mechanisms involved in the anticarcinogenic effect of garlic consumption were assessed by determining its capacity to alter drug metabolizing enzymes, in relation with its alliin content. Rats were fed a diet for 2 weeks containing 5% garlic powders produced from bulbs grown on soils with different levels of sulfate fertilization and therefore containing differing amounts of alliin.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) modulates cytokine expression in lipopolysaccharide-activated human blood thereby inhibiting NF-kappaB activity.

Garlic is proposed to have immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. This paper shows that garlic powder extracts (GPE) and single garlic metabolites modulate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine levels in human whole blood. GPE-altered cytokine levels in human blood sample supernatants reduced nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB activity in human cells exposed to these samples.