ABSTRACT
Malnutrition affects many infants in Chad, impairing their general health. Infant feeding practices therefore require special monitoring. This study aimed to assess feeding practices and their influence on the nutritional status of infants aged 6 to 23 months in the Guera province in Tchad. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire. Participants were selected using random sampling, and statistical data were processed using SPSS and XLstat 2016 software. Results showed that 86.5% of the children received mixed breastfeeding and colostrum, respectively, at birth. Exclusive breastfeeding was low, at 12.5%. Meal frequency was low overall, with only 3% of children receiving three meals a day. Evaluation of the impact of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices showed that bottle-fed infants were generally in a poor nutritional state, with 50% severely malnourished and 50% moderately malnourished, while only 12% of exclusively breastfed children were in severely malnourished state. The high frequency of meal was also favorable to normal state, and no child receiving three meals was sick more than once in the last three months. What's more, only 44% of breastfed children and 52% of colostrum-fed children had fallen ill more than once in the previous three months. In general, malaria and diarrhea were the most frequently contracted by children. This study identified the factors that hurt the normal nutritional status of infants in this part of the Tchad.

ABSTRACT
Leafy vegetables play an important role in the diets of all populations around the world, particularly in Africa, Asia and Oceania, where they provide an essential part of the nutritional and medicinal needs. Ficus exasperata leaves could improve the nutrition and health of consuming populations. the leaves of Ficus exasperata are little known in terms of food for the Ivorian population. The objective of this study is to study the effect of cooking in water on some biochemical parameters of leafy or gratory vegetables (Ficus exasperata) used in the preparation of traditional dishes in the North of Côte d’Ivoire. Ficus exasperata was cooked for 20 to 40 min and the biochemical analyzes were carried out at different times from 20 to 40 min. The results revealed significant differences at the 5% level. The results showed that fiber and lipid levels increased after 20 minutes of cooking. On the other hand, cooking in water after 40 min resulted in losses of 14.41% of ashes, 55% of proteins, 96% of phytochemicals, 81.74% of phytates and 84.94% of oxalates. The recommended cooking time is 20 minutes because most of the nutrients are barely denatured. It would then be recommended to cook these leafy vegetables for 20 minutes to minimize nutrient losses.

ABSTRACT
Background: Adolescents' nutritional status is crucial to their overall health and development. Various socio-economic factors play significant roles in influencing this status, especially in rural areas. Objective: The study aimed to identify the factors contributing to adolescents' nutritional status and to examine the relationship between these factors and the adolescents' socio-economic characteristics in Bagha, Rajshahi. Method: Data were collected from 250 adolescents using structured interview schedules. Key variables studied included the adolescents' education, mothers' education, family income, food intake, and nutritional knowledge. Correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the associations between these variables and the adolescents' BMI and nutritional status. Result: The study revealed that adolescents' BMI had significant positive correlations with their education, mothers' education, family income, food intake, and nutritional knowledge. An inverse correlation was found between nutritional status and disease information. Other factors, such as gender, religion, family size, fathers' education, and hygiene practices, showed positive but non-significant associations. Negative, non-significant correlations were observed with age, physical activity, transportation, leisure activities, and participation in nutrition programs. A substantial majority (89.6%) of respondents were inactive in calorie intake, with only 2.4% being active. Most adolescents (79.6%) were underweight, while 20% had normal weight. Most mothers (63.3%) and fathers (55%) had primary-level education. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that annual family income, food intake, and nutritional awareness were positively correlated with nutritional status, whereas disease information had a significant negative correlation. Conclusions: The findings highlight the critical impact of socio-economic factors on adolescents' nutritional status. .......

ABSTRACT
Pepper is one of the most commonly used spices in most food cultures because of its many dietary and medicinal uses. The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the effects of different varieties of pepper on intestinal motility and post-prandial serum bicarbonate concentration in guinea pigs. The study was carried out using 50 adult guinea pigs weighing 800-1000g, separated into groups of 5 each including group 1 which served as control. The experimental groups received respectively black, green and red pepper extracts in concentrations of 25mg/kg, 50mg/kg and 75mg/kg. For each experimental group, pepper was administered together with a mixture of Evans blue dye and Arabic gum and allowed for one hour. Each animal was thereafter, anesthetized and the intestines dissected out. For each animal, the total length of the intestine as well as the distance travelled by the test meal from the pyloric sphincter were measured and recorded. Intestinal transit was expressed as the percentage of the distance travelled by the test meal to the total length of the intestine. Concomitantly, blood samples were collected to determine the post-prandial bicarbonate concentration. The result showed that all three varieties of pepper caused significant rise in percentage intestinal transit (in 1hr) and by implication reduction in the intestinal transit time. However, a significant dose-dependent effect was observed in the groups receiving black and green pepper respectively but not in the red category. This suggests an inverse relationship between the concentrations of black and green pepper with the intestinal transit time. Pepper did not cause any significant change in the plasma post-prandial bicarbonate concentrations. Conclusively, the results suggest that black, green and red pepper respectively increased intestinal motility without possibly causing any significant effect on gastric acid secretion.