French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important export vegetable crop that faces serious production challenge due to Ascochyta blight (Phoma exigua). The objectives of this studywere to determine the; (i) antifungal activities of methanol extract of Leonotis nepetifolia and Ocimum gratissimum against Phoma exigua in vitro, (ii) fungicidal effects of extracts of the two test plants on the incidence and severity of Ascochyta blight, and yield of French bean. Methanol extracts of compo...
Indigofera lupatana Baker F. (locally known as Mugiti) has been used by Mbeere community of Kenya to treat cough, diarrhea, pleurisy and gonorrhea. These and other infectious diseases are a cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. Their effects are further aggravated by drug resistance. There is also increased emergence and re-emergence of infections from previously harmless micro-organisms, as part of nosocomial and opportunistic infections. This calls for search of new d...
Fungi, especially higher ones, have received a lot of attention in the recent decades due to the advances of biotechnological techniques. This is because secondary metabolism in fungal biotechnological cultures is manipulable and produces an array of compounds with diverse as well as novel chemical and biological properties. The activities can be taped into to address the myriad problems afflicting local communities in Kenya especially in agrochemical and medical sectors. Disease burden ...
ABSTRACT Plants are a potential source of antimicrobial compounds. In this study, a plant from the family Simaroubaceae, Harrisonia abyssinica, traditionally used to treat a number of diseases was used. Research has been carried out on its stem bark, root bark and leaves and a number of chemical constituents have been isolated but no research has been carried out on its berries. Therefore the berries of this plant were chosen in order to investigate for antimicrobial compounds. The berries o...
ABSTRACT Starch is a naturally occurring polymer found in parts of the plants such as leaves, stems, tubers, and fruits. It is a commonly used excipient in pharmaceutical formulations because of its availability, affordability and inertness. Cyperus esculentus (tiger nut) is widely cultivated in the country especially in the northern part of Nigeria. Until recently, the use of tiger nut had been limited to food products and few pharmaceutical applications. This research is aimed at character...
Malaria is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium. It is one of the leading causes of human morbidity and mortality in the sub-Sahara countries, Kenya included. The parasite is transmitted by Anopheles sp as a definitive host from one human host to another through bite. Five species of mosquito - borne Plasmodium parasites infect humans include Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium knowlesi, and Plasmodium falciparum. Plant samples were collected from M...
ABSTRACT There is a growing trend of using cloud environments for ever growing storage and data processing needs. However, adopting a cloud computing paradigm may have positive as well as negative effects on the data security of servicing consumers. The focus of this research is on the development of a proof-ofconcept system for security and integrity of result computations in a cloud computing environment by implementing a four level cloud based application security gateway methodology for ...
ABSTRACT Deaths due to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) related diseases are still very high, especially in Africa. This is mainly attributed to poor diagnosis and late detection of the virus at times when the virus has greatly multiplied within the human body. In an attempt to come up with early detection mechanisms of the virus, several investigations have been carried out. The current detection mechanisms are less rapid with some being. Here we report on the potential of Raman spectrosco...
ABSTRACT The study investigated the levels of organochlorine pesticide residues in both cocoa beans and soils of cocoa plantations in selected farms in Ondo State. Soil samples and cocoa pods were collected from four major farms in the State. The pesticide residues were extracted, cleaned up and analysed using Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD). In the analysed cocoa samples, the ranges of the mean concentrations of the organochlorine pesticides were: α-HCH (ND-0.094 mg/k...
ABSTRACT Due to rapid increase in development of complex computer systems over the past decades, there is need to estimate and predict the reliability of software systems during the testing process. Reliability refers to how well software meets its requirements and the probability of failure free operation for the specified period of time in a specified environment. The high demand and use of software has led to increased quest for more reliable software. For the past few decades several soft...
A study was conducted on the newly developed purple tea clones in Kenya. Green tea quality analyses on theanine and catechins were done using HPLC, while total polyphenols were done using the Folin- Ciocalteu phenol reagent method. Sensory analysis was also done on green tea samples. Plain black tea quality parameters were determined (total theaflavins and individual theaflavins, brightness and total colour percentages, total thearubigins and fractions and total soluble solids) for all t...
ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of industrial wastewater on the environment of Ikeja by identifying the industries that generate and discharge wastewater. It also examined the physico-chemical composition of the wastewater and determined the spatial distribution of wastewater discharge and its relationship with environmental pollution. It compared the waste water quality of the sampled industries in the study area with LASEPA regulatory standards. Field collection of wastewater samp...
Malaria caused by Plasmodium parasite is at the moment the one of the highest killer disease in the tropics. In developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, some people still rely on traditional medicine for the treatment of this disease. In the present study an ethnobotanical survey was conducted to document antimalarial medicinal plants. In vitro antiplasmodial and in vivo toxicity activities were carried out on crude root extracts and on the isolated pure...
Commercial fermented milks have health benefit potential attributed to pure probiotics used as starter culture. Lactic acid bacteria (LABs) are the probiotics used. LABs promote stabilization of the gastrointestinal microecology of humans by producing secondary metabolites like lactic, acetic and propionic acid, hydrogen peroxide and bacteriocins (bactericidal proteins). These metabolites are health benefiting. Mursik, an indigenous fermented milk product is consumed by many Kenyan commu...
ABSTRACT Malaria caused by Plasmodium parasite is at the moment the one of the highest killer disease in the tropics. In developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, some people still rely on traditional medicine for the treatment of this disease. In the present study an ethnobotanical survey was conducted to document antimalarial medicinal plants. In vitro antiplasmodial and in vivo toxicity activities were carried out on crude root extracts and on the isolated ...