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Background: Fish is an important source of food for people. According to the FAO, It is man’s most important single source of high-quality protein and dietary omega-three fatty acids. Objective: The study consisted of the chemical characterization of the oil extracted from Ilisha africana and Sardinella maderensis being fish species from the Cameroonian coast. Material and methods: The fish were collected at the fishing port of Douala, transported to the laboratory, washed with distilled water and filleted. Oil was extracted from the fillets using dichloromethane and methanol. The different indexes of the oil were determined using standard methods and the fatty acid profile by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results: Ilisha africana and Sardinella maderensis are oily fish. The oil was of good quality various amounts of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Palmitic acid was the major SFA with 28.56% and 30.54% for Ilisha africana and Sardinella maderensis respectively. Palmitoleic acid and 15octadenoic were the major MUFAs in Ilisha africana and Sardinella maderensis, respectively. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) the main omega 3 PUFAs. In both species DHA was the predominant fatty acid among PUFAs. Arachidonic acid and linoleic acid were the major omega 6 PUFAs in Ilisha africana and Sardinella maderensis. Conclusion: These results show that Ilisha africana and Sardinella maderensis are a good source of EPA and DHA and the nutritional quality of lipids may beneficit for human health.

Childhood malnutrition is a current and perpetual public health concern in many African countries. Challenges remain the difficulty in formulating nutritionally adequate diets. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of Dioscorea schimperiana flesh color on nutritional composition and antioxidant activity of formulated yam based complementary food. Flours from dried yam slices bought on local market were fortified with soybean and groundnut paste to develop a balanced diet. Carrot and egg shell were added as reinforcing sources of micronutrients. The nutritional content and antioxidant properties of the flour blends were then assessed. Results indicate the flour blendes satisfy the recommended energy and macronutrients requirements according to set standards. Thus the flour blends can be used for managing protein-energy malnutrition. They can also offer health benefits due the composition of many bioactive compounds. The amount of carotenoids, α tocopherol, total phenols, zinc and iron in yam-based formulations depended on the color of the yam flesh. Βeta carotene was the major carotenoid present. The yellow-fleshed yam flour blend had the highest content (10 mg/100 g) of polyphenolic compounds but comparatively lower antioxidant activity. In contrary, yellow-fleshed with red dots flour blend had the highest antioxidant activity (0.218 M Trolox equivalents/100 g) and the lowest content (8 mg/100 g) of the responsive bioactive compounds. The red-fleshed yam based complementary food had the highest content in these micronutrients. Feeding 6–11 months old children with yam-based complementary food would satisfy 23–77.4% of the 200 µg daily minimum suggested reference retinol activity intake of vitamin A and 8.20–30.48% of the 2.5 mg α-tocopherol requirement. At this stage of growth, yam based complementary food would satisfy 68–100% of the average daily minimum reference intake of zinc and 63–100% of iron daily requirements according to the daily serving portion needed to satisfy the 200–550 energy requirement. Taking into consideration their contribution in meeting the micronutrients daily intake suggested reference values; the weaning flour is most suitable for a 12–23 month old child. Keywords: Childhood malnutrition, Balanced diet, Dioscorea schimperiana

Crude palm oil (CPO), an ingredient with a high content in provitamins A, is usually consumed associated with foods that could affect carotenoids metabolism. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of foodstuffs prepared with the incorporation of CPO on carotenoids absorption. Thus, we studied carotenoids bioavailability in Cameroonian local meals based on CPO and three different foodstuffs: maize (Zea mais), cassava (Manihot esculente) or black eyed peas (Vigna unguiculata). Modified ‘yellow sauce’ prepared mainly with CPO was used as control meal. Eleven healthy volunteers with age range between 20-30 year and similar body mass index were submitted to the study. A total of four interventions (i.e., meal ingestion) were performed every six days. After meal ingestion blood samples were collected at 0, 2, 4 and 6 h, and carotenoids content were analyzed by HPLC. Results showed that control meal had the highest carotenoids absorption (0.479±0.063 µg.h/ml.), followed by maize (0.329±0.115 µg.h/ml) and cassava (0.141±0.075 µg.h/ml) cakes. Food based on black eyed peas incorporated with CPO showed the smallest increase in blood carotenoids (0.053±0.062 µg.h/ml). Notably, CPO consumption leads to a short term significant increase of blood carotenoids (p

Crude palm oil (CPO) is an essential ingredient of Cameroonian recipes. However, its quality is subject to doubt, considering the very often inadequate conditions of extraction, conditioning, storage, and selling in the fast growing small holder sector or in the market. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of seasons and containers on the microbiologic, physicochemical quality and the carotenoids content of CPO sold in Douala. A total of 194 samples of CPO were randomly collected in seven markets among which: 95 during the rainy season and 99 during dry season; 93 from CPO contained in opened containers and 101 in closed containers. In these samples, aerobic count colony (ACC) load, total yeasts and moulds load, peroxide value (PV), free fatty acids content (FFA), impurity level and carotenoids content were assayed.The samples tested had ACC load of 4.48±1.86x105 CFU/ml, total yeasts and moulds load of 0.30±0.14x105 CFU/ml, PV of 1.81±0.74 meqO2/kg, FFA of 4.30±1.82%, impurity level of 0.34±0.16% and carotenoids content of 756.41±110.67 mg/l. Also, none of these parameters had varied according to the market. Moreover, among these parameters, PV and carotenoids content were not varied whatever CPO is sold during rainy or dry season, in open or closed containers while others parameters analysed were significantly (P