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African traditional beverages are widely consumed food-grade liquids processed from single or mixed grains (mostly cereals) by simple food processing techniques, of which fermentation tops the list. These beverages are very diverse in composition and nutritional value and are specific to different cultures and countries. The grains from which home-processed traditional beverages are made across Africa are often heavily contaminated with multiple mycotoxins due to poor agricultural, handling, and storage practices that characterize the region. In the literature, there are many reports on the spectrum and quantities of mycotoxins in crops utilized in traditional beverage processing, however, few studies have analyzed mycotoxins in the beverages themselves. The available reports on mycotoxins in African traditional beverages are mainly centered on the finished products with little information on the process chain (raw material to final product), fate of the different mycotoxins during processing, and exposure estimates for consumers. Regulations targeting these local beverages are not in place despite the heavy occurrence of mycotoxins in their raw materials and the high consumption levels of the products in many homes. This paper therefore comprehensively discusses for the 1st time the available data on the wide variety of African traditional beverages, the mycotoxins that contaminate the beverages and their raw materials, exposure estimates, and possible consequent effects. Mycotoxin control options and future directions for mycotoxin research in beverage production are also highlighted.

The International Women’s Day Celebration started as a socialist political movement, which fought for women’s right to vote and better working conditions. Over the years this movement has fought for education, health, poverty, political integration, violence, armed conflict and the aspirations of the girl child. In Cameroon presently, the perception of women about the International Women’s Day Celebrations is not fully appraised. A survey was carried out for a week in Biyem-Assi neighborhood after the International Women’s Day Celebration (IWDC). The aim of this study was to generate knowledge on a gendered perception of the International Women’s day celebration and the practices attached to it. The survey revealed that 50% of women were perceived to celebrate this day for no reason, as most of them did not know the theme for the day. Also, 88.9% of women indulged in a lot of alcohol with most drunk and other malpractices. The findings speculate that the IWDC is about to lose its political flavour if no action is taken. Women and men both accepted that there was a need for women to be educated more on the importance and relevance of the International Women’s day and its celebrations. peerReviewed

There is increasing awareness of the need to understand the patterns and levels of dietary mycotoxins mixtures. To achieve this goal, mycotoxins and their metabolites are being measured in urine. We previously published a multi-mycotoxin LC-MS/MS survey of 120 Nigerian urine samples, however we were aware that in measuring the mixture a compromise on assay sensitivity was incurred compared to some established single-analyte methods. In order to allow more accurate and comparative dietary mycotoxin exposure determination, a highly sensitive urinary assay, including 13C-labelled or deuterated internal standard, was developed and validated for seven important mycotoxins (and several metabolites) including AFM1, FB1, OTA, DON, DOM-1, NIV, ZEN, CIT, dihydro-CIT, α- and β-ZEL, and AOH. The assay includes β- glucuronidase pre-treatment, SPE enrichment, UHPLC separation and high precision triple quadrupole MS/MS detection. Analytical sensitivity was significantly improved, providing parity or better compared to existing single analyte methods, but in a single more robust multi-mycotoxin assay. On re-analysis of the Nigerian urine samples we observed an increased number of positive samples for all tested mycotoxins: from 50.8% to 100%, with highest occurrence of ZEN (82%), OTA (76%), AFM1 (73%), and FB1 (71%). Overall, a significant share of samples (68 out of 120 ; 57%) were contaminated with both AFM1 and FB1.

Non-governmental organizations (NGO) have become quite prominent in the field of international development in recent decades. Even though, NGO have taken the centre stage in the fight against poverty, social injustice and human rights most are considered weak due to their dependence on funding from government and international aid bodies. This research activity highlights the probable values and weaknesses plaguing the civil society in Cameroon. Due to the pressures of obtaining and maintaining funding, less effort is placed on management leading to a lack of accountability and inefficiency in services offered to the public. The absence of a common platform for NGO makes coordination of their activities unrealistic. In our discussion we intend to propose ways by which NGOs can synergize their action plans. The paper will end by highlighting the distance NGOs have covered as development actors in Cameroon with recommendations deduced to valorise NGOs existence in Cameroon. Open-Access Publikationsfonds 2016 peerReviewed

Humans can be exposed to multiple mycotoxins at the same time, resulting in acute or chronic and potentially synergistic effects. Hence, there is a demand for proper exposure assessment by quantification of suitable biomarkers for different mycotoxins simultaneously. A rapid and direct LC-MS/MS method for the quantitative measurement of fifteen mycotoxins and key metabolites in human urine including deoxynivalenol (DON), DON-3-glucuronide, DON-15-glucuronide, DOM-1, nivalenol (NIV), T-2 and HT-2 toxin, zearalenone (ZEN), ZEN-14-glucuronide, α- and β-zearalenol, fumonisins B1 and B2, ochratoxin A and aflatoxin M1 was recently developed by our group. After validation, the method was applied in pilot surveys analyzing urine samples obtained from Cameroonian, Croatian and Austrian volunteers: In 63% of the Cameroonian samples (n=175) at least one analyte was detected and co-exposure to different mycotoxins was frequently observed. Overall, eleven analytes (DON, D3GlcA, D15GlcA, NIV, FB1, FB2, ZEN, α-ZEL, Z14GlcA, AFM1 and OTA) were determined in the samples in varying incidence and quantity. In one single sample up to six analytes (AFM1, DON, D15GlcA, NIV, FB1, and OTA) were found at the same time. In Croatian (n=40) and Austrian (n=27) samples DON metabolites were ubiquitous. The concentrations of urinary DON and its glucuronide conjugates were used to estimate the daily intake of this toxin. Notably, in Austria 33% and in Croatia 80% of individuals exceeded the provisional maximum tolerated daily intake (PMTDI) of 1 µg (kg bw)-1 d-1 assigned by the WHO. An urine excretion of 2 L per day, a urinary transfer rate of 72% and a constant urinary excretion of DON throughout a day was assumed for the estimation. The method was additionally applied to study human DON metabolism in vivo. DON and two closely eluting DON-glucuronides were determined and chromatographically separated in a naturally contaminated urine sample. In contrast to previous findings, we have tentatively identified D15GlcA as a major DON metabolite in human urine besides D3GlcA. These new findings clearly demonstrate the great potential of the developed multi-biomarker method to critically assess exposure of humans to “cocktails” of naturally occurring mycotoxins.

Human individuals can be exposed to a variety of mycotoxins at the same time, resulting in acute or chronic and potentially synergistic effects. Hence, there is a demand for proper exposure assessment by quantification of suitable biomarkers for different mycotoxins simultaneously. We recently developed a rapid and direct LC-MS/MS method for the quantitative measurement of fifteen mycotoxins and key metabolites in human urine including deoxynivalenol (DON), DON-3-glucuronide, DON-15-glucuronide, DOM-1, nivalenol (NIV), T-2 and HT-2 toxin, zearalenone (ZEA), ZEA-14-glucuronide, α- and β-zearalenol, fumonisins B1 and B2, ochratoxin A and aflatoxin M1. This validated method was subsequently applied in pilot studies analysing urine samples obtained from Cameroonian, Croatian and Austrian volunteers. In 63% of Cameroonian samples (n=175) at least one analyte was detected and co-exposure to different mycotoxins was frequent. In total, eleven analytes (DON, D3GlcA, D15GlcA, NIV, FB1, FB2, ZEA, alpha-ZEL, Z14GlcA, AFM1 and OTA) were determined in the samples in varying incidence and quantity. In one single sample up to six analytes (AFM1, DON, D15GlcA, NIV, FB1, and OTA) were found at the same time. In Croatian (n=40) and Austrian (n=27) samples DON metabolites were ubiquitous. The concentrations of urinary DON and its glucuronide conjugates were used to estimate the daily intake of this toxin. Notably, in Austria 33% (Warth et al., 2012. Toxicology Letters, in press) and in Croatia 80% of individuals exceeded the provisional maximum tolerated daily intake of 1 µg/kg bw/day assigned by WHO (WHO, 2001. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper Vol. 74), when assuming a urine excretion of 2 l per day, a urinary transfer rate of 72% (Turner et al., 2010. Biomarkers 15: 553-562) and a constant urinary excretion of DON throughout a day. Besides its use for exposure assessment, the method was applied to study human DON metabolism in vivo. DON and two closely eluting DON-glucuronides were determined and chromatographically separated in a naturally contaminated urine sample. In contrast to previous findings, we have tentatively identified D15GlcA as a major DON metabolite in human urine (Warth et al., 2012). These new findings clearly demonstrate the great potential of the developed multibiomarker method to critically assess exposure of humans to multiple naturally occurring mycotoxins.