Codou Mar Diop

Saba senegalensis : Key Features and Uses

Native of West Africa, Saba senegalensis belongs to the family of Apocynaceae, and is a wild plant that is mainly exploited in the diet. It grows mainly along riverbanks, in wooded savannah areas in humid areas, in gallery forests and in rocky ravines and hills. Saba senegalensis is a large woody liana with white latex, dark gray bark, can reach more than 40 m high and a trunk that can measure up to 47 cm in diameter. The fruit is a globose shell, 7 to 10 cm long, 6 to 8 cm wide. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, dark green in color, about 8 to 15 cm long and 4 to 6 cm wide. This fruit is characterized by its richness in antioxidant molecules especially vitamin C (480 mg/100 g) and total polyphenols (945.83 mg/100 g). The fruit contents 41.43 until 80% water with a low pH (2.24). In Senegal, the fruit is eaten as it or transformed into puree, nectar, syrup, canned etc. It is a plant that has enormous therapeutic virtues, from the fruit to the roots through the leaves, bark, and latex. Despite its high nutritional potential, its many therapeutic virtues and its economic potential, Saba senegalensis remains under-exploited. Further researches on the nutritional and therapeutic properties deserve to be conducted.

Modeling the Crystal Violet Kinetics Removal by Electrocoagulation Process for Wastewater Treatment

A batch reactor is used with an aluminum anode and a stainless steel cathode to decolorize crystal violet solutions by electrocoagulation. Optimization of operating parameters showed that for initial concentrations ranging from 5 to 100 mg/L, initial pH ranging from 6.72 to 5.43, current density of 250 A/m2, conductivity of 4.27 mS/cm, and inter-electrode distance of 0.5 cm, a yield of 99.75% is achieved on reduction of color and 98.5% for reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD).