A semi-automatic approach to the characterisation of dark chocolate by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and multivariate analysis.

Tracing the geographical origin of chocolate is of increasing importance owing to the market growth of cocoa products of high quality and especially where value is derived from those products being of single origin. The NMR analysis of methanolic/aqueous extracts of dark chocolate samples from Peru, Venezuela and Madagascar is reported and 42 different chemical constituents are identified, quantified and analysed using multivariate techniques. This paper describes a simple non-destructive protocol, which look at the chemical profile for chocolate samples from these three geographical locations and demonstrates potential for assessing the provenance of chocolate products, which has implications in food quality, safety and authenticity.

[Hepatitis E virus: an emerging disease]. / Une hépatite émergente : l'hépatite E.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a spherical, non-enveloped, single stranded RNA virus. Four genotypes (1-4) have so far been distinguished. HEV infection can occur either in large epidemics (in endemic regions only: southeast Asia, India, central Asia central, Africa, and Mexico) or in sporadic forms. HEV is transmitted principally by the fecal-oral pathway, that is, hand-to-mouth. There is a risk of transmission from animals to humans. Nearly half of all cases have no or few symptoms. Symptomatic forms can be severe. The mortality rate can reach 20% in pregnant women. Recent reports indicate that autochthonous cases have been contracted in France. Several aspects differentiate sporadic autochthonous hepatitis from that contracted in endemic areas: 1) mean age of onset is older in the former; 2) prognosis is more severe; and 3) prolonged even chronic forms can affect some immunocompromised patients, in particular, those with organ transplants. The diagnosis of hepatitis E must now be considered in any cases of acute hepatitis of unexplained origin in France. Diagnosis relies on RT-PCR testing of blood or stool.