There is a new attention to vegetables as vital components of daily diet. A concerted effort to raise their standing has begun to change mentalities and to fuel a rapid growth of traditional leafy vegetables marketing and consumption in African cities. However, little is known about the production and consumption patterns of these plant foods. This study examined, through a field survey the socio-economic, food consumption and conservation aspects of leafy vegetables in the region of Ouagadougou. It was found that leafy vegetables are cultivated under both rain-fed and irrigated conditions in the villages and also in the city's gardens. The study has demonstrated that there is considerable indigenous knowledge on the leafy vegetables of the region. Amaranth species are the most cultivated and marketed and have potential for commercialization. They are used for many dishes in the local kitchen. Leafy Amaranths are consumed during all seasons even though they are more available (and cheap) during rainy season (June to end October). Ninety-four per cent of the interviewed people use vegetable Amaranth in sauce. There is a growing trend to use cultivated (introduced) species of Amaranth, which were brought to Africa by colonial powers and gained popularity because they were associated with high status. The introduced species are spreading quickly in a spontaneous manner. This can be a threat to biodiversity. There is need for a conservation initiative for the native species. In the commercialization of leafy vegetable and in particular for Amaranth, women play an important role. That could be optimized for marketing purpose to improve leafy vegetable adding-value. Because transportation is a cost increase factor, and given that cities should be targets for increased consumption, it is necessary to promote peri-urban agriculture of leafy vegetables, by policy guidelines. There is a need of documentation and dissemination of indigenous knowledge on indigenous leafy vegetables.

Variability of some biochemical traits of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. fruits in Burkina Faso. Abstract-Introduction. Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. birrea is an indigenous fruit tree very widespread in Burkina Faso. Although very appreciated by the rural populations for its fruit, it remains not domesticated and underutilized. Until now, studies regarding fruit variation and quality have been focused on S. birrea subsp. caffra originating in Southern Africa. Materials and methods. Fruit biochemical composition of 106 Sclerocarya birrea trees was studied in Burkina Faso along a North-South transect (climatic gradient) starting from five quantitative characters of the fruit and seed. The reducing sugar and total sugar rate, the total free acidity content and the [total free acidity / total soluble sugars] ratio were defined for the pulp. The lipid content of seeds was measured. Results and discussion. For the studied characters, the analysis of the results highlighted a great inter-and intra-population variability. The inter-population variability is explained by the climatic gradient which characterizes the sampling zone. Conclusion. The highlighted variability of the S. birrea subsp. birrea fruit composition could be used as a basis for a breeding program. Burkina Faso / Sclerocarya birrea / fruits / proximate composition / chemical composition / site factors / agroclimatic zones Variabilité de quelques caractères biochimiques des fruits de Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. au Burkina Faso. Résumé-Introduction. Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. birrea est un fruitier sauvage très répandu au Burkina Faso. Bien que très apprécié par les populations rurales, il demeure non domestiqué et sous utilisé. Jusqu'à présent, les études sur la variation et la qualité des fruits se sont concentrées sur la sous espèce caffra, originaire de l'Afrique australe. Matériel et méthodes. La composition biochimique des fruits de 106 arbres de Sclerocarya birrea au Burkina Faso a été étudiée le long d'un transect Nord-Sud (gradient climatique) traversant le Burkina Faso à partir de cinq caractères quantitatifs du fruit et de la graine. Le taux en sucres totaux et en sucres réducteurs, la teneur en acidité libre totale et le rapport [acidité libre totale / sucres solubles totaux] ont été définis dans la pulpe. La teneur en lipides des graines a été déterminée. Résultats et discussion. Pour les caractères étudiés, l'analyse des résultats a mis en évidence une grande variabilité inter-et intra-population. La variabilité inter-population s'explique par le gradient climatique qui caractérise la zone d'échantillonnage. Conclusion. La variabilité de la composition des fruits de Sclerocarya birrea subsp. birrea mise en évidence pourra servir de base pour un programme d'amélioration. Burkina Faso / Sclerocarya birrea / fruits / composition globale / composition chimique / facteur lié au site/ zone agroclimatique 1 Lab. Génét. Biotechnol. Vég.

Cowpea is consumed as a staple food in many developing countries. The present study was undertaken to determine the variation in mineral elements and phytate concentrations in 30 cowpeas seeds varieties consumed in Burkina Faso. The composition of the thirty cowpeas seeds in total mineral varies from 5.08 % ± 0.00 to 3.55 % ± 0.08. The genotype CR06-07 showed the high content of total mineral (ashes) and the genotype Kondesyoungo local, the low content of ashes. IT81D-994 showed the high content of iron (7.07 ± 0.057 mg/100g of seeds dw), zinc (4.42 ± 0.012 mg/100 g of seeds dw), magnesium (239.80 ± 1.192 mg/100 g of seeds dw), calcium (123.39 ± 2.31 mg /100 g of seeds dw) and potassium (1201.97 ± 25.66 mg/100 g of seeds dw). Na and Se levels in the seeds showed about 4.5-fold and 7.6-fold variations between the cowpeas varieties. The genotype komcallé showed the high content of sodium (5.45 ± 0.20 mg/100 g of seeds dw) and the genotype KVx 414-22-2 had the high content of selenium (0.006 ± 0.0002 mg/100 g of seeds dw). The phytate content of the cowpeas genotypes varied from 555.61 ± 7.48 for TVU 14676 to 13.50 ± 1.14 mg/100 g of seeds dw for KVx 30-309-6G. The [Phy]/[Fe], [Phy]/[Zn], [Phy]/[Ca] and [Phy] x [Ca]/[Zn] ratios showed that the phytate content might compromise the Fe, Zn and Ca bioavailability in some cowpeas varieties. This study indicates that the cowpeas varieties might be considered as mineral source suitable for animal and human consumption.

The study aimed to determine the effect of seeds size (length, width, thickness and 100 seeds-weight) on their phytochemical composition (total phenolics, total flavonoids, total proteins, soluble sugars and starch) of cowpea accessions (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) grown in Burkina Faso. The genotypes and their descendants had length, width, thickness and 100 seeds weight between 80 ± 0.7 to 7.40 ± 0.46 cm; 6.51 ± 0.41 to 5.76 ± 0.46 cm; 5.15 ± 0.37 to 4.22 ± 0.22 cm; 12.93 ± 0.09 to 20.16 ± 0.39 g respectively. Total phenol, total flavonoid and starch contents ranged from 585.37 ± 9.73 to 1704.71 ± 4.87 mg GAE per 100 g DW; 41.42 ± 2.03 to 52.26 ± 0.75 mg QE per 100 g DW; 6.45% ± 0.3% to 46.58% ± 0.12% respectively. The soluble sugars and total proteins contents were ranged respectively from 149.33 ± 3.80 to 432.82 ± 40.81 µg/100mg, and 20.28 ± 0.17 to 27.32 ± 0.17 (%). Seeds size characters had significant and positive correlations with starch content, and significant and negative correlations with total phenolic content. The study of the genetic parameters of phytochemical traits also revealed that they are slightly influenced by the environment. Genetic factors are believed to account for the variation in the observed seed traits, which provides a high potential of studied accessions for breeding programs.