scholarly journals Diversity, Chemical Composition, and Domestication Potential of Allanblackia parviflora A. Chev. in West Africa

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1758
Author(s):  
Dennis Kyereh ◽  
Anna Maňourová ◽  
Prasad S. Hendre ◽  
Alice Muchugi ◽  
Marie Kalousová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Seed Oil ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Fruit Tree ◽  
West African ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Allanblackia Parviflora

Allanblackia parviflora A. Chev. is an indigenous tree species which is found in West African rainforest zones. It is an underutilized fruit tree species that has been targeted for improvement as part of efforts to domesticate high-value indigenous multi-purpose trees for fruit and seed production in Africa. Allanblackia has several benefits, such as providing shade, timber, and medicine; however, the production of edible oil from its seeds is the economically most important use. There is evidence that the Allanblackia seed oil, which is used for cooking, the production of margarine and the manufacturing of ointments and soap, is being developed as a new agri-business in Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Tanzania. Despite the nutritional and socio-economic importance of A. parviflora, it is still at the early stages of its domestication process. Even though several researchers have explored the biology of this species, there is very limited scientific information available on its morphological and genetic diversity and silvicultural management in West Africa. Therefore, this systematic review presents an up-to-date overview on the uses, seed chemical composition, and morphological and genetic diversity of this fruit tree species, and proposes a way forward for future research towards improvement and domestication.

Food Production in the Forest Zone of West Africa: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Chia ◽  
A. Catherine D'Andrea
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Food Production ◽  
West African ◽  
Before Present ◽  
The West ◽  
Forest Zone ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Indigenous Tree Species

Recent narratives on the origin of food production in the West African forest zone have replaced earlier diffusion-based models with viewpoints that emphasize the diversity of sources for plants and animals exploited and domesticated in the region. Management of indigenous tree species, including oil palm and incense tree, managed first by indigenous foragers, have the longest history in the area, dating back to over 8,400 before present (bp). After the 4th millennium bp, domesticates such as pearl millet, cowpea, and domestic caprines were introduced from adjacent Sahel and the savanna regions, and populations began to favor oil palm over incense tree. The mechanisms of these introductions are less clear but likely involved both diffusion and/or movements of peoples who became sedentary to varying degrees. Palaeoenvironment is an important factor to consider in tracking the development of food production in the forest zone; however, some combination of natural and human-mediated changes took place, the nature of which was not uniformly distributed.

A new small Arthroleptis (Amphibia: Anura: Arthroleptidae) from the Liberian part of Mount Nimba, West Africa

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2302 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARK-OLIVER RÖDEL ◽  
JOSEPH DOUMBIA ◽  
ALEX T. JOHNSON ◽  
ANNIKA HILLERS
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
West Africa ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
West African ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Unique Color ◽  
Smooth Skin

A new small West African Arthroleptis from the rainforest at the south-eastern tip of Mount Nimba, Liberia is described. The new species differs from all known congeners by the combination of a unique color pattern, a rounded canthal region and a completely smooth skin. The comparison of 592 base pairs of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA from the new species with Arthroleptis samples from all over West Africa, revealed genetic distances between 13.4–17.9%. From the morphologically similar A. aureoli the new species differed by 17.9%. Future research may reveal the necessity to establish a new genus for this peculiar new frog.

scholarly journals Blighia sapida (akee apple).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiola Areces-Berazain
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Fruit Tree ◽  
Food Crop ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Blighia Sapida

Abstract Blighia sapida, commonly known as ackee, is a tree species native to the Guinean forests of West Africa that has been introduced to the Americas, Australia and a small number of countries in Asia and Oceania. It is cultivated as an ornamental and fruit tree despite the arils being deadly poisonous if improperly prepared. It has been reported as naturalized in Jamaica, where has become an important food crop, and in Cuba and Australia although it does not appear to constitute an immediate problem in these countries.

scholarly journals Prickly Pear Seed Oil Extraction, Chemical Characterization and Potential Health Benefits

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 5018
Author(s):  
Ghanya Al-Naqeb ◽  
Luca Fiori ◽  
Marco Ciolli ◽  
Eugenio Aprea
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Seed Oil ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Oil Extraction ◽  
Prickly Pear ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Potential Health

Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) is a member of the Cactaceae family originally grown in South America, and the plant is now distributed to many parts of the world, including the Middle East. The chemical composition and biological activities of different parts of prickly pear, including cladodes, flowers, fruit, seeds and seed oil, were previously investigated. Oil from the seeds has been known for its nutritive value and can be potentially used for health promotion. This review is an effort to cover what is actually known to date about the prickly pear seeds oil extraction, characteristics, chemical composition and potential health benefits to provide inspiration for the need of further investigation and future research. Prickly pear seeds oil has been extracted using different extraction techniques from conventional to advanced. Chemical characterization of the oil has been sufficiently studied, and it is sufficiently understood that the oil is a high linoleic oil. Its composition is influenced by the variety and environment and also by the method of extraction. The health benefits of the prickly pear seed oil were reported by many researchers. For future research, additional studies are warranted on mechanisms of action of the reported biological activities to develop nutraceutical products for the prevention of various chronic human diseases.

scholarly journals A Genomics Resource for Genetics, Physiology, and Breeding of West African Sorghum

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques M. Faye ◽  
Fanna Maina ◽  
Eyanawa A. Akata ◽  
Bassirou Sine ◽  
Cyril Diatta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
West African ◽  
Gene Pools ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Canonical Height ◽  
Genome Wide

AbstractLocal landrace and breeding germplasm is a useful source of genetic diversity for regional and global crop improvement initiatives. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in West Africa has diversified across a mosaic of cultures and end-uses, and along steep precipitation and photoperiod gradients. To facilitate germplasm utilization, a West African sorghum association panel (WASAP) of 756 accessions from national breeding programs of Niger, Mali, Senegal, and Togo was assembled and characterized. Genotyping-by-sequencing was used to generate 159,101 high-quality biallelic SNPs, with 43% in intergenic regions and 13% in genic regions. High genetic diversity was observed within the WASAP (π = 0.00045), only slightly less than in a global diversity panel (π = 0.00055). Linkage disequilibrium decayed to background level (r2 < 0.1) by ~50 kb in the WASAP. Genome-wide diversity was structured both by botanical type, and by populations within botanical type, with eight ancestral populations identified. Most populations were distributed across multiple countries, suggesting several potential common gene pools across the national programs. Genome-wide association studies of days to flowering and plant height revealed eight and three significant quantitative trait loci (QTL), respectively, with major height QTL at canonical height loci Dw3 and SbHT7.1. Colocalization of two of eight major flowering time QTL with flowering genes previously described in US germplasm (Ma6 and SbCN8) suggests that photoperiodic flowering in WA sorghum is conditioned by both known and novel genes. This genomic resource provides a foundation for genomics-enabled breeding of climate-resilient varieties in West Africa.

STUDY OF CORIANDER SEED OIL (Coriandrum sativum L.)

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-38
Author(s):  
Ha Bich Phan ◽  
Thach Ngoc Le
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Essential Oil ◽  
Seed Oil ◽  
Coriandrum Sativum ◽  
Conventional Heating ◽  
Geranyl Acetate ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
Coriander Seed Oil ◽  
Coriander Seed

Coriandrum sativum L. belongs to the Apiaceae family, which is cultivated in Dong Nai province, in this paper its seed oil of was studied. The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation. We used two methods for activating of hydrodistillation: conventional heating and microwave irradiating. Its physical and chemical indexes were measured. The chemical composition of this oil was identified by GC/MS and quantified by GC/FID. Linalool (75.51-77.21 %), and geranyl acetate (15.64-12.79 %) were the main constituents of the oil which were obtained in 0,32-0.39 % yield. The biological activity of this oil was reported.

The Coin of the African Realm

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Herbst
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
West Africa ◽  
West African ◽  
Regional Economies ◽  
African Countries ◽  
New Strategies

This chapter examines the politics of the currency in West Africa from the beginning of the twentieth century. A public series of debates over the nature of the currency occurred in West Africa during both the colonial and independence periods. Since 1983, West African countries have been pioneers in Africa in developing new strategies to combat overvaluation of the currency and reduce the control of government over the currency supply. The chapter charts the evolution of West African currencies as boundaries and explores their relationship to state consolidation. It shows that leaders in African capitals managed to make the units they ruled increasingly distinct from the international and regional economies, but the greater salience of the currency did not end up promoting state consolidation. Rather, winning the ability to determine the value of the currency led to a series of disastrous decisions that severely weakened the states themselves.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document