A documentation of plants used by rural small-scale farmers to control maize pests in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Maize (Zea mays L.) small-scale farmers in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa are generally under resourced, and as a result their crops are vulnerable to pest attacks. The farmers often cannot afford farming implements and inputs, and tend to improvise with what is freely available in their surroundings. Regarding pests, farmers tend not to follow the conventional use of chemical insecticides and rather use alternative methods of control such as plant-based methods. Plant-based methods that are founded on formulations and plant combinations, have been found to be eroding due to lack of documentation. This study sought to document the names of plants used in combinations and formulations and their preparation methods so that they can be further used to set a research agenda specific to affordable pest control methods for the Province. Surveys using the convenience and stratified purposive sampling techniques were conducted in selected rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province in order to investigate the plants, their combinations and formulations as used by these farmers to control insect pests of maize. A total of 217 farmers were interviewed. Study protocols adhered to ethical standards set by the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, whereas percentages were calculated using Microsoft Excel (2010). Findings revealed that most of the plants used were from families Solanaceae and Asteraceae. The most preferred plant was Chenopodium ambrosioides, a perennial herb from the family Chenopodiceae. Although, several arthropods were mentioned by farmers as pests of maize in their cultivation areas, the predominant targets of formulations and combinations were maize stalk borers. These insects were also cited as most troublesome. The common plant part used in combinations and formulations was the leaves. The findings raised the need for a continuous scientific validation and documentation of indigenous pest control methods to bridge the  generational gap and increase the range of their use

Assessment of oral safety profile of aqueous extract blend of three medicinal spices in Wistar rats

Purpose: To evaluate the possible toxicity of a blend of three spices, namely, garlic (Allium sativum), ginger (Zingiber officinale) and cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) in Wistar ratsMethods: For acute toxicity test, five females and five male rats were given a single oral dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight of aqueous extract of the spice blend and observed for 14 days. Sub-acute toxicity was assessed by giving male and female rats 200, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight oral doses of the spice blend on a daily basis for 28 days, while controls were administered distilled water. At the end of the experiment, blood and tissues were collected for haematological, biochemical and histological evaluations.Results: The haematological indices of treated rats did not reveal any significant (p > 0.05) differences from those of control except for elevation in lymphocyte count which was significant (p < 0.05) in the 500 and 1000 mg/kg treated male groups. Activities of serum alkaline phosphatise (ALP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK), as well as concentration of total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) following treatment with the extract of the spice blend. Histological examinations of the liver did not reveal any pathological changes attributable to treatment with the spice blend extract.Conclusions: These findings indicate that oral consumption of a spice blend of garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in humans may be safe.Keywords: Spice blend, Toxicity, Histology, Marker enzymes, Medicinal, Safety profil

Comparative antibacterial activity of two Helichrysum species used in male circumcision in South Africa.

The leaves of Helichrysum pedunculatum and H. longifolium are used for the treatment of wounds arising from male circumcision by the Xhosas and the Pondos of South Africa, respectively. The antibacterial activity of these herbs was compared by direct bioautography using Staphylococcus aureus. Extracts from the leaves of H. pedunculatum showed more activity against the bacterium than those from H. longifolium. Heating the extracts from the latter, further reduced their activity against S. aureus, The traditonal heating of the leaves of this plant over hot ash before use is, therefore, likely to reduce their activity against infection

Warmed-over flavour profiles, microbial changes, shelf-life and check-all-that-apply sensory analysis of cooked minced pork treated with varying levels of Moringa oleifera leaf and root powder

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Data will be made available on request.This study investigated warmed-over flavour profiles, microbial changes, shelf-life and sensory characteristics of minced cooked pork treated with Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) root and leaf powder during refrigerated storage at 4 °C. A total of 8 treatments (control = no antioxidant; 0.5ML = 0.5% M. oleifera leaf; 1ML = 1% M. oleifera leaf; 0.5MR = 0.5 % M. oleifera root; 1MR = 1% M. oleifera root; 0.5MLR = 0.5% M. oleifera leaf and root mixed; 1MLR = 1% M. oleifera leaf and root mixed; BHT = 0.02% butylated hydroxytoluene) were evaluated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the plant extracts against the test bacteria was determined using the serial dilution in 96 well microtiter plates technique. Warmed-over flavour profiles were determined using the test for carbonyls assay where hexanal was used as a marker for warmed-over flavour. The check-all-that-apply sensory tool was used to characterise minced cooked pork treated with different antioxidants according to warmed-over flavour taste and odour intensities. The results showed that the antibacterial assay of the extracts exhibited a broad-spectrum of activity against the tested bacteria. The leaf extracts demonstrated better activity against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, with most of the MICs at less than 1 mg/mL, while the root performed better against gram-negative bacteria compared to gram-positive bacteria. There was a significant rapid increase in the warmed-over flavour profiles of the control compared to the M. oleifera and BHT treated pork. The pork samples which had M. oleifera leaf, root, and their combination at inclusion levels of 1% and 0.5% displayed lower warmed-over flavour profiles that fell in the range (1.0–1.46 mg hexanal/100g fat) throughout the storage period. Consumer sensory evaluation revealed that pork samples treated with the highest inclusion level (1%) of the M. oleifera leaf powder received the lowest consumer rating scores for appearance. Based on these results, adding M. oleifera leaf and root powder can decrease warmed-over flavour development and improve the shelf-life of processed pork. Furthermore, the incorporation of M. oleifera root powder can potentially be more acceptable to consumers because of its colour compared to the leaf, which gives the product a green colour that may not be pleasant for some consumers. This suggests that the inclusion of the root powder at 1% may be well accepted for consumption by consumers.The National Research Foundation South Africa.http://www.cell.com/heliyonCentre for the Advancement of Scholarshi

Track E Implementation Science, Health Systems and Economics

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138412/1/jia218443.pd

Ethnomedicine in South Africa: The role of weedy species

ArticleSome weedy plant species have competitive advantage over other species found growing in the same habitat due to their efficient utilization of mineral resources, adaptability to the environment and comparative high fecundity. They are often caught in the web of conservation policy which causes the indiscriminate eradication of these species without consideration for other potential economic importance. This review elucidates the medicinal importance of weedy species found growing in South Africa. Twenty four plant families and 34 species were implicated in the treatment of twenty one diseases and sicknesses by the different natives of South Africa. The importance of this work on the future management of weedy species is briefly discussed

Antimicrobial activity of Solanum tomentosum

Acetone, methanol and water extracts from the leaves of Solanum tomentosum were investigated for their antimicrobial activities. Growth inhibition was determined using agar dilution assays against ten selected bacterial and three fungal species. Acetone and methanol extracts were active against the Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria at a concentration of 5 mg/ml. None of the extracts inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumonae and Penicillium notatum . The activities of the extracts on the test fungi were generally low. Methanol extracts was particularly suppressive to the growth of fungi with inhibitory percentage ranging from 47.22 to 50.56% on Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum

In vitro propagation: A biotechnological tool capable of solving the problem of medicinal plants decimation in South Africa

South Africa has a very rich plant biodiversity, many of which are medicinally useful. The rich resource is decreasing at an alarming rate as a result of over- exploitation. Plant in vitro regeneration is a biotechnological tool that offers a potential solution to this problem as it provides a means of putting the plants onto the market at lower prices. We present in this paper a review of micro propagation protocols developed for selected medicinal plants of South Africa and highlight the need for the utilization of this technology for the mass propagation of over-exploited medicinal plants in South Africa