Antimicrobial activity of traditional medicinal plants from Ankober District, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Context: Traditional medicinal plants have long been used in Ethiopia to treat human and livestock ailments. Despite a well-documented rich tradition of medicinal plant use in the country, their direct antimicrobial effects are still poorly known. Objective: To investigate the antimicrobial activity of 19 medicinal plant species that were selected based on the ethnobotanical information on their traditional use to treat infectious diseases in Ankober District. Methods: About 23 different ethanol extracts of plants obtained by maceration of various parts of 19 medicinal plant species were studied for potential antimicrobial activity using a broth microdilution method against Bacillus cereus, Bacteroides fragilis, Candida albicans, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pyogenes. Results: Plant extracts from Embelia schimperi Vatke (Myrsinaceae) showed the strongest antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 64 mu g/ml against B. cereus, L. monocytogenes, and S. pyogenes. Growth inhibitory activities were also observed for extracts of Ocimum lamiifolium Hochst. (Lamiaceae) against S. pyogenes, and those of Rubus steudneri Schweinf. (Rosaceae) against S. epidermidis at an MIC value of 128 mu g/ml. Generally, 74% of ethanol extracts (17 extracts) showed antimicrobial activity against one or more of the microbial strains tested at an MIC value of 512 mu g/ml or below. Discussion and conclusions: Results confirm the antimicrobial role of traditional medicinal plants of Ankober and warrant further investigations on promising medicinal plant species so as to isolate and characterise chemicals responsible for the observed strong antimicrobial activities

Ethnopharmacological survey of Samburu district, Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ethnobotanical pharmacopoeia is confidently used in disease intervention and there is need for documentation and preservation of traditional medical knowledge to bolster the discovery of novel drugs. The objective of the present study was to document the indigenous medicinal plant utilization, management and their extinction threats in Samburu District, Kenya.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Field research was conducted in six divisions of Samburu District in Kenya. We randomly sampled 100 consented interviewees stratified by age, gender, occupation and level of education. We collected plant use data through semi-structured questionnaires; transect walks, oral interviews and focus groups discussions. Voucher specimens of all cited botanic species were collected and deposited at University of Nairobi's botany herbarium.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data on plant use from the informants yielded 990 citations on 56 medicinal plant species, which are used to treat 54 different animal and human diseases including; malaria, digestive disorders, respiratory syndromes and ectoparasites.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ethnomedicinal use of plant species was documented in the study area for treatment of both human and veterinary diseases. The local population has high ethnobotanical knowledge and has adopted sound management conservation practices. The major threatening factors reported were anthropogenic and natural. Ethnomedical documentation and sustainable plant utilization can support drug discovery efforts in developing countries.</p

State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity

Plant species composition and structure of the Mana Angetu moist montane forest, south-eastern Ethiopia

A floristic composition and structure study of the Mana Angetu Forest was carried out between July 2003 and June 2004 at four sites of the forest with an altitudinal range of 1533-2431 m. Three transects, 750 meters apart from each other, were established at each site from ridge top of the mountain to the bottom where human interference is low. A total of 81, 30 x 30 m quadrats were established at every 50 m altitudinal drop. For shrub and herbaceous layers 5 x 5 m and 2 x 2 m subplots were establishedrespectively, within the main quadrats. Data on species occurring cover abundance, diameter at breast height and numbers of individuals per species were collected from each quadrat. A total of 211 species belonging to 173 genera and 75 families were identified. Shrubs were represented by 33% of the species collected, followed by herbs (27%) and trees (23%). Seven clusters were recognized from the TWINSPAN output and the communities were named after 2 to 3 dominant species in each cluster.The contribution of trees with DBH>2 cm for the total tree density was 49%,whereas that of DBH>10 cm and 20 cm was 35% and 17%, respectively. The total basal area of the forest was 94m2/ha. Analysis of Importance Value Index indicated that Vepris dainellii had the highest value (79). The population structure showed that there is a need for conservation priority of species with poor regeneration. The presence of natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the forest causes concerns for its conservation and sustainable utilization

In vitro antibacterial activity of four plant species used in traditional medicine practices of south Omo zone, southern Ethiopia

&lt;p&gt;Screening of plants used in traditional medicines could provide valuable information regarding antimicrobials. The present study determines the antibacterial activity of crude extracts of four medicinal plants, in vitro, against a panel of American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) (two Grampositive and seven Gram-negative bacteria) and clinical isolates of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria (two strains of Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria), by employing agar well diffusion assay. Based on the ethnobotanical data, four plants were chosen and collected from different areas of south Omo. Leaves (Aloe pirottae, Kosteletzkya begoniifolia, and Uvaria leptocladon) and root (Grewia schweinfurthii) of plants were subjected to the extraction process using six different organic solvents. The plants that showed the highest activity indices were further screened against MDR bacterial isolates. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were estimated in the case of the most active plant extract. The results of primary screening revealed that two plants (K. begoniifolia, and U. leptocladon) were highly active against ATCC strains. Ethyl acetate extract of U. leptocladon produced the highest zone of inhibition ranging between 20 ±1.15 mm to 40±1.45 mm against Gramnegative bacteria and 21±0.58 mm to 28±2.03 mm against Gram-positive bacteria. Likewise, extracts of K. begoniifolia in the same solvent produced an inhibitory zone in the range of 10±0.33 mm and 20±1.15 mm corresponding to Gram-positive and Gram-negative type culture bacteria respectively. The results of the comprehensive screening showed that ethyl acetate extract of U. leptocladon efficiently inhibited the growth of MDR bacterial isolates. The overall findings of this study demonstrated that all four plants have antibacterial activities in varying degrees. The ethyl acetate extract of U. leptocladon showed the widest and highest spectrum of antibacterial activities in the range of 15.7±0.3 to 23.7±0.7 mm as per agar well diffusion assay, whereas the MIC values of U. leptocladon against the Gram-negative bacteria ranged between 7.8 and 125 μg/ml and the corresponding MBC values were found to be in the range of 15 and 500 μg/ml. MIC and MBC values were found to be the least, 125 μg/ml and 500 μg/ml respectively in the case of Gram-positive bacteria. Overall results substantiate the traditional uses of U. leptocladon as an antibacterial agent.&lt;/p&gt

Prioritising crop wild relatives to enhance agricultural resilience in sub‐Saharan Africa under climate change

Social Impact Statement Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect sub-Saharan Africa in the next century, posing a threat to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and deepening food insecurity. To adapt to this threat, more climate-resilient crops need to be brought into the food system; these may be developed through breeding with crop wild relatives with key traits to cope with climate change. Here, we assess the level of open-access trait documentation of crop wild relatives of 29 important crops, their resilience, how threatened they are in situ, how well they are preserved ex situ and we provide priorities for their conservation and use in breeding programmes. Summary - Climate change is projected to adversely affect smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the next century, with many areas becoming unsuitable for growing crops. Breeding programmes using crop wild relatives (CWRs) that are pre-adapted to projected future climatic conditions may lead to more resilient crops, but their traits have not been screened across a large diversity of CWRs. Furthermore, many are threatened and require greater protection in situ and ex situ to prevent the loss of an important adaptive solution to climate change. - A previous ecogeographical study found that 303 out of 836 CWRs of 29 major crops cultivated across SSA may represent priorities for future crop resilience. Here, we assessed the availability of trait information and compared traits between resilient and non-resilient CWRs. Subsequently, we analysed the conservation status of CWRs in situ and ex situ to set new global priorities for protection. - Our findings show that the traits of many CWRs are poorly described, but for those species with better coverage, key differences between resilient and non-resilient CWRs were identified, including lower plant height amongst resilient CWRs of tree crops (arabica and robusta coffee, mango and cacao) and a higher likelihood of invasive CWRs to be resilient. We found that 14% and 36% of resilient CWRs are threatened in situ and absent from seed collections, respectively. - Our study highlights CWR priorities for conservation based on resilience. A concerted international effort is recommended to conserve CWRs and improve agricultural resilience in a changing climate