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

Comparative Brine Shrimp Toxicity of Withenia somnifera and Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Extracts and In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of W. Somnifera

This study reports on the bioactivity and in vitro antimicrobial action of methanol extract of Withania somnifera using in vitro cultures of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The extract of W. somniferum inhibited the growth of S. aureus and C. albicans but not E. coli, S. typhimurium and P. aeruginosa. The diameters of the zones of inhibitions of microbial growth ranged from 14 mm to 16 mm. The results of antimicrobial testing of W. somnifera extract indicated that it has antimicrobial properties, which support its continued use as a herbal remedy. Comparative toxicity of extracts of W. somnifera and Chrysananthemum cinerariaefolium (pyrethrum plant) was done using the brine shrimp lethality test at serial dilutions of 1000 &#956;g/ml, 100 &#956;g/ ml and 10 &#956;g/ml. The median lethal concentration (LC50) for each extract was determined. Both plant extracts were found to be toxic to brine shrimp with LC50 of 110.3 &#956;g/ml and 106.6 &#956;g/ml for W. somnifera and C. cinerarieafolium respectively. Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 30 (2) 2006: pp. 53-5

An Assessment of the Presence of Escherichia coli in the roof-collected rainwater from some areas around Nairobi.

One of the sources of feacal contamination of rainwater harvested from roofs is wind-blown dust containing particulate matter from animal faeces, or through direct defecation. Since the primary habitat for Escherichia coli (E.coli) is the gastro-intestinal tract of mammals and birds (Atlas 1984), it\'s a good indictor of feacal contamination (Hazen, 1988). This study aimed to investigate the presence of E.coli. In rainwater samples collected from roofs in some areas around Nairobi, which have different levels of livestock density. Forty four of the 89 samples collected tested positive for the presence of E.coli from Ngong Division, which had a cattle density of 1446 per square Kilometre was, 55%, but it was not significantly different from both Kikuyu Division: cattle density of 166; both of which had 34% of the samples testing positive to E.coli (p=0.3094). It was concluded that rain water harvested from roofs for human consumption in the study area should be treated before use. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 27 2004: pp. 97-10