Infectious diseases remain to be a global health burden due to the development of antibiotic resistance by pathogenic microorganisms. Antibiotic resistance has led to increased number of deaths among children and adults. Medicinal plants have been used over the years in the treatment and remedy of various infections affecting human beings. The use of secondary metabolites from medicinal plants and fungal endophytes can be an alternative to disease management without the negative impact o...
Mosquito transmitted diseases such as yellow fever, elephantiasis, dengue and malaria are some of the most deadly vector-borne diseases, affecting millions of people mainly in the tropics. In spite of major efforts undertaken for control of the diseases, through drug treatment and vector control, an increase in mosquito borne disease incidences has been witnessed in the last decades. Africa suffers most from mosquito borne diseases since mosquito vectors are distributed almost throughout...
ABSTRACT Maize is an important cereal crop and a staple food in most parts of Africa. Food insecurity is one of the major challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. The food situation is worsened by fungal infestation of maize crops in the fields. The most prevalent fungi on maize crops are Fusarium moniliforme and Fusarium graminearum that cause red ear rot, stalk rot and Grey leaf spot (GLS) respectively. The development of antifungal resistance and side effects associated with synthetic pesticides ...
The emergence of bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics and other drugs is a worldwide problem. New classes of antimicrobial compounds with complete new mode of action are therefore urgently needed to control the rise of the multidrug resistant pathogens. The objective of this study was to synthesize and characterize half-sandwich organometallic compounds of ruthenium(II) containing bipyridine and pyridine- imine ligands and to test their biological activities against one Gram posi...
ABSTRACT The chemistry of natural products is very important since it has been used in the search for bioactive compounds for management of various human diseases including cancer. The increase in the incidence of cancer coupled with the undesirable side effects observed with chemotherapic agents urges the discovery of new agents from natural sources. In this study the four ethnomedicinal plants; Dovyalis abyssinica (Salicaceae), Solanum mauense (Solanaceae), Syzigium guinense (Myrtaceae) and...
ABSTRACT Most communities in Western Kenya use plant indigenous salts for cooking, medicinal and numerous uses. Typha latifolia and Cyperus rotundus reeds are widely used in Busia and Lugari regions of Western Kenya to prepare indigenous salts. The suitability of these salts and validation of micronutrients and heavy metals is unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of the indigenous reed salt used in selected parts of Western Kenya. Micronutrients and heavy metal c...
ABSTRACT Vegetable oils are triglycerides extracted from plants. Deep frying is one method which involves submerging the food in hot oil. When this oil is overused it undergoes a series of chemical reactions which may affect human health. This has made it important to study the oxidative stability of selected vegetable oils as relates to the different types of food fried. The main objective was to determine the relative thermal oxidative stability of the palm, corn, peanut, soybean, and sunf...
ABSTRACT Maize production in sub-Saharan Africa remains low and the yields are on the decline. This has been attributed to a variety of factors which include soil nutrient depletion and Striga infestation. Soil phosphorous, nitrogen and Striga hermonthica are the major constraints to maize production in Nyanza Province of Kenya. The yields are typical of low input systems ranging below 1.0 t ha-1 against a potential of 5.0 t ha-1 per season. In an attempt to overcome these constraints, field...
ABSTRACT Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake located about 80 km northwest of Nairobi and lies about 1890 metres above sea level. The freshwater system is used for drinking, washing and livestock watering by more than 600,000 people. However, declining water quality due to environmental perturbations has raised public concerns worldwide. The occurrence of blooms of cyanobacteria has become a serious problem as they produce a wide spectrum of toxins including microcystin which cause various ad...
ABSTRACT Fluorosis is a condition caused by excessive intake of fluoride, and is characterized mainly by mottling of teeth. A number of defluoridation techniques have been proposed, studied and even implemented in a number of countries, to varying degrees of success. Among these techniques, contact precipitation, a hybrid technique involving the use of calcium and phosphate compounds together with bone char to effect defluoridation of water has been extensively used. The mechanism of fluorid...
ABSTRACT Mosquitoes present a worldwide, public health and nuisance challenge since they transmit human diseases including west Nile virus, malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, filiarisis and other viral diseases throughout the globe. An obvious method for preventing the spread of these diseases is to control mosquito vector population by insecticides and synthetic agents, which have been developed and employed in the field with considerable success. As a result of insects’ resistance a...
ABSTRACT Tea is a beverage and also a stimulant that is consumed by many people all over the world. It contains various bioactive compounds like alkaloids, polyphenols, and amino acids among others. Amino acids play the role of moderating taste of the tea infusion. Theanine is a unique amino acid found in the Camellia sinensis species and has been reported to reduce high blood pressure, improve learning and concentration and reduce premenstrual symptoms. This study was conducted to determine ...
ABSTRACT Maize (Zea mays L.) and the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are the two most important staple foods not only in Kenya but also in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the importance of these two crops, there have been production constraints due to diseases caused by bacterial and fungal pathogens. The major diseases affecting maize production are Gray Leaf Spot (GLS) and maize ear rot which are caused by fungal pathogens, Cercospora zeae-maydis, Fusarium moniliforme and Fusarium graminear...
ABSTRACT Mosquitoes transmit serious human diseases, resulting into millions of deaths globally every year. The use of synthetic insecticides to control vector mosquitoes has caused physiological resistance and adverse environmental effects in addition to high operational costs. Mosquito larvicidal compounds from certain plant and fungal species have been reported. Basidiomycetes fungi are known to synthesize a wide range of bioactive secondary metabolites. The objective of this work was to ...
ABSTRACT Pelargonium sidoides is a medicinal plant grown in Kenya for export to Germany where it is used in the manufacture of drugs for lung related diseases. The farm contributes to the well being of the local community by providing permanent employment to for over 80 persons, with 80 percent being women. It also offers free pre-primary education to their children including the ones from the neighbourhood. The broad spectrum of activity against viruses and bacteria may be caused by the coum...