ABSTRACT Natural products present in medicinal plants are an important source of therapeutic agents and many research groups are currently screening different biological activities of plants. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial, antioxidant properties and phytochemical analysis of Acacia arenaria (Fabaceae), Aloe esculenta (Alliaceae) and Pechuel-Loeschea leubnitziae (Asteraceae) that are used in traditional settings. The antimicrobial activity of the methanol-dichloromethane (...
ABSTRACT Namibia has a rich biodiversity of plant species of which a great variety is used for food, cosmetics and medicinal applications. Seed oil production from indigenous sources has economic importance for Namibia and is an asset for improving the livelihoods of local communities. Knowledge of the quality and composition of these oils can be used towards value-added product development strategies and improved marketing of indigenous resources. A comprehensive profile of indigenous seed ...
ABSTRACT Though the promotion of resistant bacteria worldwide has mainly been attributed to the injudicious use of many antibiotics, the role of non-antimicrobial drugs used in the clinical management of pathological conditions of non-infectious diseases in the modulation of microbial drug resistance or susceptibility needs to be assessed. The effects of the antibioticnon- antibiotic drug-drug interactions against bacteria in SCD patients and in other chronic diseases cannot be overemphasized...
ABSTRACT Over the years, natural products have played a major role in the search for novel drugs or drug candidates. Secondary metabolites from nature especially those of fungal origin exhibit unique biological activities and research continue to meet the keen interests which have potential pharmaceutical value. Fungi constitute an important source of secondary metabolites such as penicillin. The present study analyzed the biological activities of a variety of compound mixtures from wood deca...
ABSTRACT The continual emergence of drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has caused global public health concerns. This project establishes basis for deciphering diverse resistance mechanisms in mycobacteria which would lead to the development of novel therapeutic options. Unique classes of antipsychotic compounds have been found to possess antifungal and anti-mycobacterial activities. The study sought to use antipsychotic compounds and a panel of phenotype modifying compounds...
ABSTRACT Pearl millet is a staple food and fodder crop of marginal areas of sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Americas. Although pearl millet is stable food for 70 % of Namibian population, its productivity is very low (low yield, susceptible to diseases/insect and prolonged reproductive cycle) and has a limited genetic diversity. For the purpose of widening gene diversity, developing high yielding and drought resistant pearl millet, the Kangara and Okashana 2 were mutated using Colbalt...
ABSTRACT , Proteolytic activity of theJQ.qOOxgsupernate of homegenates ef adult Haemonchus contortus has been studied with respect to substrates susceptible to its proteolytic activity, and the effects of factors such as temperature, pH, substrate concentration, extract concentration, dibasic metal ions, detergents, heat and some specific inhibitors of proteolytic activity. The supernate had two pH optima, 5.6 with haemoglobii as substrate, and 7.8 using L-alanyl - p-nitroanilide. It showed o...
ABSTRACT Mycobacterium ulcerans, causes Buruli ulcer (BU), a necrotizing skin disease endemic in 33 countries globally. Its environmental reservoir and mode of transmission are unknown. Portaels hypothesized that prior skin contamination followed by penetration through existing skin abrasion or trauma may be a possible route through which M. ulcerans is transmitted to humans. Comparative epidemiological and case control studies have outlined some risk activities associated with BU that could...
ABSTRACT Alcoholic extract of Croton membranaceus Mull. Arg is used at the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine at Mampong Akwapim to treat retention of urine due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The effect of the extract on rat steroid 5areductase activity in invo was investigated using a radioimmunoassay technique to quantitate dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in blood. The effects of the extract and two unidentified alkaloidal isolates of the plant, provisionally refer...
ABSTRACT Arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism that leads to the production of both anti- and pro-inflammatory eicosanoids is a standard assay used to investigate the basis for the therapeutic action of anti-inflammatory medicinal plants. Earlier investigations have established the efficacy of some herbal preparations in terms of their ability to increase the amounts of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. Desm.od.ium adscendens and Parkitina sp. ('Tina A' ) increased PGE2 and PGI2 synthesis and inhibit...
ABSTRACT Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality and remains a global health challenge. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a leading root of cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Growing evidence indicates a strong association between T2DM and high level of hepcidin; a major regulator of iron homeostasis. Iron overload is an important risk factor that plays a major role in pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications. Insulin resistance and elevated c-react...
Preeclampsia is a multisystem disease of pregnancy of unknown cause. It is a maternal syndrome, which is characterized by increased blood pressure, edema, proteinuria or significant amount of protein in the urine of pregnant women and abnormal clotting, liver and renal functions all of which may be due to the release of placental toxic factors into the mother’s circulation. The only effective therapy to this complication is to facilitate the culteinment of the pregnancy or delivery (in...
Aqueous crude extract of Desmodium adscendens, as dispensed at the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine (CSRPM), was freeze-dried into a powder and used in this study to evaluate its toxicological effects in rats. For acute toxicity studies, high doses of the freeze-dried extract, were administered orally as single doses to rats, and the behaviours of the animals and organ toxicity were noted. Low, medium and high doses of the plant extract, representing 3, 10, and 30% of ...
Cancer is a major health burden worldwide as a result of its high frequency of mortality and morbidity. The most frequent cancer globally among women is breast cancer with a high death rate of about 458,000 deaths per year. Breast cancer is a multi-factorial disease which acts in sequence or simultaneously to initiate and/or promote tumour growth (Ritchie et al., 2001). The origin of breast cancer is poorly understood but it has been associated with are risk factors such as obesity, gend...
ABSTRACT The immunoglobulin G (IgG) receptors FcyRIIa and FcyRIIIb vary among different ethnic groups, and more importantly, are also known to be associated with either susceptibility to or protection from certain diseases. These variations are manifest as differences in the antigen-binding capabilities of the receptors. The genes encoding for these receptors are polymorphic and these also vary among populations. These variations can be investigated using molecular methods such as PCR. The ai...