In vitro antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of different Senna didymobotrya (Fresen.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby plant parts

Background: Herbal medicines have been in use for many years and remain widespread in developing countries; whereas, the use of complementary alternative medicine is on the increase in developed countries. Senna didymobotrya is important for its medicinal benefits among most communities in treating a wide range of ailments.Materials and methods: Plants were collected from a cluster in Siaya, Nandi and Nakuru counties (Kenya). Stem bark, root bark, leaves, flowers and immature pods were obtained; air-dried and ground into fine powder. Methanol was used to extract the plant extracts. The extracts were reconstituted in water and incorporated into growth media to obtain 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%. Bioassays were carried out on T. tonsurans (ATCC 28942) and C. albicans (14053). The growth of cultures on the plates was measured over a period of sixteen days. The area under disease progress stairs was determined and subjected to ANOVA and comparison of means using LSD.Results: Results indicated that the growth of C. albicans was not significantly affected by the plant extracts. Growth of T. tonsurans was completely inhibited by immature pods extract at 10%, the leaves and flowers extracts inhibited the growth at 7.5%. The stem and root bark extracts inhibited growth at low dosages of 2.5- 5 %.Conclusion: There is need to carry out research on root and stem barks to identify the active phytochemicals that contribute to their high efficacies. On species conservation, harvesting of roots may lead to depletion of S. didymobotrya.Keywords: Senna didymobotrya, ringworms, candidiasis, tinea capiti

EVALUATION OF POPULAR CASSAVA VARIETIES FOR YIELD AND CYANIDE CONTENT UNDER ASAL CONDITIONS IN KENYA

Cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a staple food crop grown by smallholder farmers in the marginal regions of western, coastal and eastern Kenya. The objective of this study was to evaluate popular cassava varieties for yield and cyanide content in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya. The study was carried out at five sites located in three sub-counties of Nakuru county in Kenya. Treatments included a collection of 27 sweet cassava varieties obtained from Western Kenya. Results revealed significant variations among varieties in all sites, for all parameters measured. The highest yields were obtained at Subukia, with the variety MM99/0067 yielding up to 200 t ha-1. Cyanide content varied significant among the varieties and sites; and was high in most of the cultivars, with highest levels recorded in variety Rao Onyoni (17.3 mg100 g-1) grown at the Lare site. The highest dry matter content was recorded in variety Selele rabuor (60.5%), at the Solai III site. Participating farmers ranked the materials based on yield, taste and order of general preference as follows: Subukia site (MM96/0067, NyaTanga, Adhiambo Lera, KME-1 and MH95/0183); Lare site (Nyar AICAD, Nyar Maseno, NyaTanga, and MM96/2480); and Solai site (KME-1, Nyar AICAD, Adhiambo Lera, Karembo, and Obaro dak).Le manioc ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) est une culture vivri\ue8re de base cultiv\ue9e par les petits agriculteurs dans les r\ue9gions marginales de l\u2019Ouest, de Littoral et de l\u2018Est du Kenya. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer les vari\ue9t\ue9s de manioc populaires pour le rendement et la teneur en cyanure dans les r\ue9gions arides et semi-arides du Kenya. L\u2019\ue9tude a \ue9t\ue9 r\ue9alis\ue9e sur cinq sites situ\ue9s dans trois sub-counties de Nakuru county in Kenya au Kenya. Les traitements comprenaient une collection de 27 vari\ue9t\ue9s de manioc sucr\ue9 obtenues dans l\u2019Ouest du Kenya. Les r\ue9sultats ont r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 des variations importantes entre les vari\ue9t\ue9s dans tous les sites, pour tous les param\ue8tres mesur\ue9s. Les rendements les plus \ue9lev\ue9s ont \ue9t\ue9 obtenus \ue0 Subukia, la vari\ue9t\ue9 MM99 / 0067 produisant jusqu\u2019\ue0 200 t ha-1. La teneur en cyanure variait consid\ue9rablement selon les vari\ue9t\ue9s et les sites; et il \ue9tait \ue9lev\ue9 dans la plupart des cultivars, avec des niveaux plus \ue9lev\ue9s enregistr\ue9s dans la vari\ue9t\ue9 Rao Onyoni (17,3 mg 100 g-1) cultiv\ue9e sur le site de Lare. La teneur en mati\ue8re s\ue8che la plus \ue9lev\ue9e a \ue9t\ue9 enregistr\ue9e chez la vari\ue9t\ue9 Selele rabuor (60,5%), sur le site de Solai III. Les agriculteurs participants ont class\ue9 les mat\ue9riaux en fonction du rendement, du go\ufbt et de l\u2019ordre de pr\ue9f\ue9rence g\ue9n\ue9rale comme suit: Site de Subukia (MM96 / 0067, NyaTanga, Adhiambo Lera, KME-1 et MH95 / 0183); Site Lare (Nyar AICAD, Nyar Maseno, NyaTanga et MM96 / 2480); et le site de Solai (KME-1, Nyar AICAD, Adhiambo Lera, Karembo et Obaro dak)