BackgroundThe leaves of Cupressus lusitanica Mill. are used in the western highlands of Cameroon for their medicinal property.MethodsThe leaves of this species were collected in the West Region of Cameroon in August 2010 and subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain the essential oil. The oil was fractionated using adsorption column chromatography. The chemical composition of this oil and its fractions was analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil and fractions were tested for antimicrobial activity against eight bacterial species and six species of Candida by the agar diffusion method. Macrodilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal and/or fungicidal concentrations (MBCs and MFCs). The toxicity profile of the oil was studied using Swiss mice and Wistar albino rats.ResultsForty-nine compounds were identified in the essential oil. The main components were germacrene D (18.5%), epi-zonarene (8.2%), cis-calamenene (8.2%), terpinen-4-ol (6.3%), linalool (6.0%) and umbellulone (6.0%). Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis and Candida albicans were most susceptible to the oil (MICs of 1.25 and 0.16% for bacteria and fungi respectively). The estimated oral LD50 was 6.33 g/kg. There was an increase in sera ALT and AST activities while the blood cells and protein levels decreased in treated animals.ConclusionThe results obtained from this study support the ethnomedicinal use of C. lusitanica leaf oil in the treatment of whooping cough and skin infections though it should be used with care. This plant oil could be useful in the standardisation of phytomedicine.

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The present study was designated to evaluated the antimicrobial activities of methanol, ethanol, hexane, ethyl acetate, aqueous, mixture methanol/water and ethanol/water extracts of Pentadiplandra brazzeana, Erythrina sigmoïdea, Petersianthus macrocarpus, Clerodendrum umbellatum , Sida acuta , Eleusine indica , Bridelia micrantha and Musanga cecropioides which are plants used as traditional folk medicine in Cameroon for the treatment of different infections and disorders as gastrointestinal disorders. The antimicrobial activities of the extracts against 17 laboratory strains belong to 15 bacterial species and 2 yeasts implicated in gastrointestinal disorders were evaluated based on the inhibition zone using the disc diffusion assay, minimal inhibition concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration values. 89.6% of the extracts tested have an inhibitory effect at 1.25 mg against at least one of the microorganism tested with the diameter of inhibition zone values ranging from 8 to 27 mm. 62.5% of the broader spectrum of antimicrobial activity of plant material was obtained with methanol extract. The most susceptible bacterium was Shigella flexneri and Enterobacter cloacae the most resistant. Ethanol/Water extract of Pentadiplandra brazzeana presented a good activity against Proteus vulgaris with MIC and MBC of 78 and 250 µg/ml respectively. The weak activity was obtained with Methanol extract of Musanga cecropioides against Klebsiella pneumonia. The results might explain the ethnobotanical use of the studied species for the treatment of gastrointestinal infections.

Aim: Test the effect of Azadirachta indica fruit extract on seed-borne fungi and seed performance of different rice varieties. Study Design: Neem fruits harvested in the locality of Pala in Chad were used to assess the antifungal effect on rice seeds. Samples of eight rice varieties (TOX, CH3, CH8, WITA9 D6, D4, D3 and D1) were collected in Bongor, Chad to assess their performance against the aqueous extract of neem fruits. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at the Research Unit of Phytopathology and Agricultural Zoology of the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Dschang/Cameroon from June to October 2018. Methodology: Rice seeds were dipped in Azadirachta indica extract at concentrations of T25 (25 mg/ml), T50 (50 mg/ml) and T75 (75 mg/ml) for 1 hour before being incubated in petri dishes containing blotting paper. Distilled water (T0) and mancozeb 80 WP (TMn1 mg/ml) were used as negative and positive controls respectively. Results: The results showed that the germination rate from rice seeds treated with Azadirachta indica extract was better (97.14%) than the rate from the negative controls (82.53%). The infection rate of rice seedlings, the number of rotten seeds and the number of abnormal seedlings were significantly (P =.05) lower for Azadirachta indica extract treatments than for the negative control (T0). Conclusions: Neem (Azadirachta indica) fruit extract has a bio-fungicidal potential and a bio-stimulator of rice seed germination. This extract of Azadirachta indica fruit can be used to improve rice cultivation.

This study was conducted to estimate the evolution of antimicrobial susceptibilities of H. pylori strains isolated in Cameroon from 2014 to 2016 in relation to sociodemographic factors and clinical outcomes. A total of 278 H. pylori strains were isolated from patients with gastroduodenal disorders and tested for their susceptibility to nine antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. With time, a significant decreased of resistance was observed against clarithromycin (31.11 to 3.20%, p<0.0001), erythromycin (66.69 to 9.6%, p<0.0001) and metronidazole (86.67 to 69.6%, p<0.0001). Resistance to tetracycline (0 to 2.4%) and doxycycline (0 to 1.6%) slightly increase with time. Resistance to amoxicillin (95.5 to 94.4%), ciprofloxacin (4.44 to 4%) and levofloxacin (0 to 0.8%) was relatively constant. No resistance was detected against rifampicin with the time. A significant decrease of resistance was detected against metronidazole / clarithromycin (22.22 to 1.6%, p<0.0001) and amoxicillin / clarithromycin (26.67 to 3.2%, p<0.0001). Among the tested isolates, 0.92 and 2.4% elicited triple resistance to metronidazole / tetracycline / amoxicillin in 2015 and 2016, and 0.8% quadruple resistance to metronidazole / tetracycline / clarithromycin / amoxicillin in 2016. Higher resistance rate was noticed as age increase and among female compared to men. Our data showed evolution in the antimicrobial susceptibilities of H pylori strains circulating in our milieu with time. This finding highlights the need of monitoring periodically H. pylori resistance profile to antibiotics in order to determine the adapted treatment for this infection.