Preliminary study of the social and demographic profile of street food in Côte d'Ivoire: Eaters of garba.

The study aims to establish the sociodemographic profile of consumers of garba (a street food sold in Côte d'Ivoire), understand its frequency of consumption, and develop a typology of its consumers. We interviewed 547 consumers at 10 points of sale. A factorial analysis of the data collected was performed and a decision tree produced for the social and demographic variables, followed by a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and then a hierarchical ascending clustering (HAC). Garba is consumed more by men (70.6%), students (42%), and single people (68.2%). The consumers are mainly Christian (51.7%) or Muslims (35.8%). The principal deciding factors explaining the frequency of individual consumption are age, occupation, and marital status. Four classes of consumers are defined according to the socioprofessional category of the individuals. Garba is highly consumed in 47% of cases, moderately consumed in 35.1% of cases and poorly consumed in 17.9%. Garba is frequently consumed by all sociodemographic levels. Its consumers can be divided into four classes. In view of its high frequency of consumption, a study of its nutritional quality is necessary to ensure guarantee consumer health.

Leaf extract of Caesalpinia bonduc Roxb. (Caesalpiniaceae) induces an increase of contractile force in rat skeletal muscle in situ.

The pharmacological properties of Caesalpinia bonduc Roxb. (Caesalpiniaceae) are not well known, but it is used traditionally to treat snake bite (Bellomaria and Kacou, 1995; Schaffner, 1997). In the present study, the mechanism through which Caesalpinia bonduc extract (Cebo) affects gallamine-induced relaxation in rat tibial muscle contractility were studied via measurement of isometric-tension-anesthetized, 10-12-week-old, male rats. Isometric twitch contractions of the indirectly-stimulated anterior tibia muscle of the right hindleg were recorded in situ. Cebo administered intravenously (i.v.) increased twitch contractions in a dose-dependent manner. The ED50 value is 2.75 x 10(-4) g/kg body wt. Similar results were obtained using the anticholinesterase neostigmine. In contrast, gallamine (a non-depolarizing muscle relaxant) or the venom of the puff adder Bitis arietans reduced the force of contraction. Treatment with Cebo or neostigmine, however, reversed the relaxation induced by either gallamine or puff adder venom. In conclusion, Cebo stimulates the muscle contractile activity, an effect which may be due to an activation of the cholinergic mechanism.