Developments and Perspectives in Bryophyte Biotechnology in Sub-Saharan Africa

The work described here covers an examination of new bioproducts based on sub-Saharan bryophytes. The work includes in vitro testing of extracts from moss and liverworts against plant pathogenic microbes causing food decay and field crop losses. Additionally, we have shown specific antimicrobial activities of Marchantia debilis and moss against Erwinia spp and Pseudomonas spp. The extracts were also tested against aflatoxin-producing fungi isolated from food crops such as maize and peanuts. The efficacy of the extracts on clinical dermatological fungal isolates like Dermatophilus congolensis has not been reported. This led to the production of an antifungal solution of bryophyte extracts, which was tested in vivo on animals with skin diseases caused by Dermatophilosis. Around 99.5% of the animals were treated. The antifungal solution for treatments has been labeled Bryosol, while the disinfectants solution is labeled Bryo-disinfectants and the crop-fungicide is labeled Bryo-fungicides. A mini field pilot trial with Bryo-fungicide showed that crops infected with pathogenic fungi were treated. The results provide the first attempt to demonstrate the use of bioproducts for organic treatment of agricultural crops and diseases in animals based on sub-Saharan bryophytes

Overview of holistic application of biogas for small scale farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Peer reviewedPostprin

Management of Diabetic Bacterial Foot Infections with Organic Extracts of Liverwort Marchantia debilis from Cameroon

Diabetic bacterial foot infections (DBFIs) are limb-threatening complications in patients with diabetes mellitus, accounting for 50% of diabetes related lower limb amputations in developing countries, representing approximately 20 percent of all diabetes-related hospital admissions with significant healthcare-related costs involved. The widespread problem of bacterial resistance to most commonly used antibiotics places a huge economic burden on the healthcare system, with both increased morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients with foot infections. In this study, the antibacterial activity of organic extracts of the fresh liverwort Marchantia debilis from the North West Region of Cameroon is reported. An exit pool system, where patients presenting with DBFIs consented to be involved in the use of phytomedicines, after long term treatment of ulcers with antibiotics and not yielding significant long term benefit, presented themselves at the Phytobiotechnology Research clinic (PRF). Continuous culture of swabs from foot and toe wounds from 30 infected patients on nutrient agar and MacConkey agars in triplicate as well as Gram stain microscopy, revealed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus species. Light petroleum and methanol extracts of the whole bryophyte plants at 100% concentration were tested. In vitro inhibition of the tested bacterial isolates from the diabetic foot ulcers by M debilis was observed only with the light petroleum extract. No inhibition by the extracts was observed for the Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate. The light petroleum extract of M debilis was formulated into a petroleum oil based cream named BryoCream (TM). This was administered to 20 of the patients with 90% cure rate in a three week time period. The main nonpolar components were determined by GCMS as lepidozene and beta-barbatene, and by NMR. as stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol. In conclusion, nonpolar extracts from bryophytes from Cameroon could, potentially, be used to treat diabetic bacterial foot infections

Bis-bibenzyls from the Cameroon Liverwort Marchantia debilis

Liverworts are rich sources of terpenoids and aromatic compounds among which bis-bibenzyls are well known for their wide spectrum of biological activities. This is the first report of chemical analysis of the African liverwort Marchantia debilis Goebel. From the methanol extract marchantinquinone-l'-methyl ether was newly isolated together with three known bis-bibenzyls, marchantin C, marchantinquinone and perrottetin E. The presence of bis-bibenzyls with a quinone moiety is noted for the first time in the Marchantia genus

Management of Diabetic Bacterial Foot Infections with Organic Extracts of Liverwort Marchantia debilis from Cameroon

Diabetic bacterial foot infections (DBFIs) are limb-threatening complications in patients with diabetes mellitus, accounting for 50% of diabetes related lower limb amputations in developing countries, representing approximately 20 percent of all diabetes-related hospital admissions with significant healthcare-related costs involved. The widespread problem of bacterial resistance to most commonly used antibiotics places a huge economic burden on the healthcare system, with both increased morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients with foot infections. In this study, the antibacterial activity of organic extracts of the fresh liverwort Marchantia debilis from the North West Region of Cameroon is reported. An exit pool system, where patients presenting with DBFIs consented to be involved in the use of phytomedicines, after long term treatment of ulcers with antibiotics and not yielding significant long term benefit, presented themselves at the Phytobiotechnology Research clinic (PRF). Continuous culture of swabs from foot and toe wounds from 30 infected patients on nutrient agar and MacConkey agars in triplicate as well as Gram stain microscopy, revealed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus species. Light petroleum and methanol extracts of the whole bryophyte plants at 100% concentration were tested. In vitro inhibition of the tested bacterial isolates from the diabetic foot ulcers by M debilis was observed only with the light petroleum extract. No inhibition by the extracts was observed for the Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate. The light petroleum extract of M debilis was formulated into a petroleum oil based cream named BryoCream (TM). This was administered to 20 of the patients with 90% cure rate in a three week time period. The main nonpolar components were determined by GCMS as lepidozene and beta-barbatene, and by NMR. as stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol. In conclusion, nonpolar extracts from bryophytes from Cameroon could, potentially, be used to treat diabetic bacterial foot infections

Disinfection Practices and Knowledge of Hair Care Professional Barbers in the City of Dschang, Cameroon

Background: Disinfection and sterilization are key processes required to ensure the safety of clients when they visit a barber for a haircut. Barbering practices differ across barbershops depending on the knowledge and economic status of the barber. Several studies have reported on disinfection methods and disinfectants used in barbershops but the manner in which these methods are implemented were not revealed as well as the working concentrations of the disinfectants they used. This study aimed to uncover knowledge on decontamination practices and disinfectants used in barbershops in Dschang and also to assess barbers’ knowledge on these practices and disinfectant substances.Methods: A randomized cross-sectional and observational study approach was conducted amongst 57 consented barbers in the city of Dschang. An interview was held with each barber after observing at least a single haircut and a questionnaire filled during the process by the investigator. Collected data was analysed using GraphPad Prism 5, SPSS21 and Microsoft Excel 2013 and the outcome presented as descriptive statistics.Results: Barbers in Dschang employed flaming (53%), UV light exposure (23%) and alcohol treatment (14%) as their main disinfection methods but performed no sterilization (100%). Disinfectants commonly used were alcohol by 96.5% barbers and sodium or calcium hypochlorite (eau de Javel) by 86% users. Knowledge on the use of these disinfectants and decontamination processes was poor amongst barbers with 94.74% alcohol and 86% sodium hypochlorite poor users.Conclusion: Barbers’ awareness of disinfection in their practice was very impressive but their entire decontamination processes were poor and depicting a contamination risk. Keywords: Disinfection, Sterilization, Decontamination, barber, barbering. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/85-0 Publication date: January 31st 202

Community engagement in water, sanitation and hygiene in sub-Saharan Africa:does it WASH?

This transdisciplinary literature review paper aims at addressing the literature lacuna in community engagement and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in sub-Saharan countries. By responding to a set of identified WASH-related questions to community engagement, it explores through different disciplinary lenses the challenges and opportunities in this significant area that impacts human health. This transdisciplinary review brought together the disciplines of water engineering, environmental microbiology, public health and infectious disease, design research, women and gender studies, and developmental studies. It examined over 430 papers with 29 papers included in the final review. The main findings suggest integrating women into leadership roles in community water management and water and sanitation programmes can lead to more sustainability and can make water projects more effective. Second, cultural preferences should be a key factor when planning and implementing WASH technologies and interventions. Third, for community engagement to be effective, it should be done with intentionality and over a longer period; and employ existing culturally embedded leadership structures, such as schoolteachers, religious leaders and train change agents

Perspective: Food environment research priorities for Africa—Lessons from the Africa Food Environment Research Network

Over the last 2 decades, many African countries have undergone dietary and nutrition transitions fuelled by globalization, rapid urbanization, and development. These changes have altered African food environments and, subsequently, dietary behaviors, including food acquisition and consumption. Dietary patterns associated with the nutrition transition have contributed to Africa's complex burden of malnutrition—obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases (DR-NCDs)—along with persistent food insecurity and undernutrition. Available evidence links unhealthy or obesogenic food environments (including those that market and offer energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages) with suboptimal diets and associated adverse health outcomes. Elsewhere, governments have responded with policies to improve food environments. However, in Africa, the necessary research and policy action have received insufficient attention. Contextual evidence to motivate, enable, and create supportive food environments in Africa for better population health is urgently needed. In November 2020, the Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention Project (MEALS4NCDs) convened the first Africa Food Environment Research Network Meeting (FERN2020). This 3-d virtual meeting brought researchers from around the world to deliberate on future directions and research priorities related to improving food environments and nutrition across the African continent. The stakeholders shared experiences, best practices, challenges, and opportunities for improving the healthfulness of food environments and related policies in low- and middle-income countries. In this article, we summarize the proceedings and research priorities identified in the meeting to advance the food environment research agenda in Africa, and thus contribute to the promotion of healthier food environments to prevent DR-NCDs, and other forms of malnutrition

A sustainable low-cost phytodisinfectant-sand filter alternative for water purification.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 80-90% of all infectious diseases are water borne. Governments in these countries spend a significant proportion of their budgets importing alum and chlorine from western nations for municipal water treatment. More than 1.2 million people lack safe drinking water in developing countries. Apart from high cost of treating water in sub-Saharan Africa, waterborne microorganisms are developing resistance to currently used disinfectants such as chlorine. To meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of providing safe drinking water, alternative and complimentary approaches such as the application of Moringa oleifera plant materials and sand filters are being studied. Previous research regarding the application of Moringa oleifera (MO) seeds have focused on the isolation of bioactive coagulant ingredients for more than four decades, with little attention directed toward field application in small and large scale water treatment applications. Slow sand filters take more than two weeks to generate clean water but there have been few studies directed towards integrating Moringa oleifera and other plant disinfectants with sand filters to generate clean water in a relatively short retention times at faster flow rates, generating a more compact filter unit. This research sought to fill this knowledge gap. Quantitative research techniques were applied to test a Moringa-sand filter column for its disinfection activity on separate synthetic contaminated water containing E. coli, Aeromonas hydrophila, total heterotrophic soil bacteria and fungi. The constructed Moringa-sand filter column was analyzed for its coagulant activity using synthetic turbid water made from bentonite and soil. Further research into documentation of indigenous knowledge and the use of indigenous medicinal plants in Cameroon with a history of use in purifying water was carried out at both the Phytobiotechnology Research Laboratories in Bamenda, Cameroon and the Microalgae Research Laboratory of the School of Chemical Engineering, Adelaide University. The coagulant and disinfection ability of the plants using surface contaminated water was carried out at the Phytobiotechnology Research Laboratories in Cameroon, followed by in-vitro antimicrobial activity of the organic extracts using microbial isolates from stream water in Bamenda, Cameroon. The coagulant and disinfection potential of Moringa oleifera seed extracts were superior to other plant materials. To this effect, further studies on Moringa oleifera seeds were planned and executed at the Microagae Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Adelaide University. Extracts of Moringa seed powder using solvents of varying polarity revealed more than 85% in-vitro antibacterial activity against E. coli (ATCC11775) strain (indicator of faecal contamination of water) and 95% against Aeromonas hydrophila strain (known to resist chlorination) compared to control of both organisms of 65% for aluminum sulphate and 80% for sodium hypochlorite. Phytochemical screening and chromatographic analyses were carried out to elucidate the possible bioactive disinfectant ingredient in Moringa seeds. These experiments were conducted as proof of concept and were preceeded by an evaluation of the microbial content of surface water at Bambui and Mile 6 Mankon water sources used for household chores in Bamenda, Cameroon, for total bacterial counts, E. coli and coliform counts. A pilot low cost disinfectant sand filter system was set up at the Government Technical College, Njinikom, in Cameroon; to test its disinfectant and coagulant efficiency using total bacterial count, E. coli, coliform and fungal counts, pH, turbidity and to provide a capacity building on dissemination of this knowledge at household level in Cameroon. Data was collected every 24 hours for a period of a month for the bench experiments using sand filters and for field work for 12 months on the pilot plant. The mean bacterial counts, pH, turbidity and a catalogue of plant materials used in water treatment were recorded. The main findings of this research are presented as a series of six publications consisting of four peer-reviewed journal articles, a book, a book chapter as well as two manuscripts submitted for publication: The main findings of this research were applied in a pilot water project at Government Technical School Njinikom, Boyo division, Cameroon. It was found in the pilot study that Moringa pretreated water filtered through sand media met both the Australian and the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water. The broad lessons for water purification are that the use of locally available natural coagulants and disinfectants in resource limited countries has a great potential of improving the economy and health of the people. This research has demonstrated the efficacy of both plant based coagulants, disinfectants and sand filter media through extraction, in vitro bioassay, purification and integration of the two systems. It is highly recommended that governments in poor countries should take up this technology. It will require commitment of countries to strengthen the natural water coagulation technology in a holistic, integrated approach and to support initiatives including empowering and enabling local scientists to build up this system at the grassroots level.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemical Engineering, 201