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

Mapping the medical outcomes study HIV health survey (MOS-HIV) to the EuroQoL 5 Dimension (EQ-5D-3L) utility index

10.1186/s12955-019-1135-8Health and Quality of Life Outcomes1718

Location, acceptance and suitability of lepidopteran stemborers feeding on a cultivated and wild host-plant to the endoparasitoid Cotesia flavipes Cameron (Hymenoptera : Braconidae)

Maize fields in Africa are usually surrounded by land occupied by wild plants many of which harbor lepidopteran stemborer species not found on crops. It is not known if the exotic braconid parasitoid Cotesia flavipes, which was released in Kenya in 1993 against the invasive crambid Chilo partellus, searches for and attacks these borers in their natural habitats and whether they are suitable for parasitoid development. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between acceptance and suitability of six stemborer species attacking cultivated sorghum (C partellus, Busseola fusca, Sesamia calamistis, and S. nonagrioides) or Napier grass (Busseola phaia and Sciomesa piscator) to C flavipes. Although all stemborer species were equally accepted for ovipositor probing by C flavipes, only C partellus and S. calamistis were suitable and produced parasitoids. In olfactometric bioassays, C flavipes females were more attracted to stemborer-infested than uninfested plants. Analyses of the volatile compounds showed that they produced richer volatile profiles, mainly comprising C5-C6 alcohols, terpenoids, aromatic and aliphatic compounds, than uninfested plants. It can be concluded that stemborer species, that were accepted for oviposition but were unsuitable for parasitoid development, form a reproductive sink and that the exotic parasitoid would not establish in areas where these are the predominant species