ABSTRACT The importance of spices and herbs as dietary supplements and alternative medicines to Zimbabwean society has increased in recent times. The popularity of these substances has come largely as a result of the dire economic situation prevalent in Zimbabwe which has engendered the dramatic collapse of the country„s healthcare system. In spite of the numerous therapeutic claims that have been associated with spices and herbs sold openly in the streets, they pose a genuine threat to the...
ABSTRACT Maize (Zea mays L.) is grown in different parts of the world, where it is a staple crop and many people rely on it as a primary source of nutrition. Salt stress is an external abiotic constraint that reduces maize ability to convert energy to biomass when it is in high concentrations. We conducted an experiment to investigate the effect of sodium chloride concentration on morphology of seedlings of maize varieties Agri Seeds R201, SC 513 and SC 403. The practical importance of the st...
ABSTRACT Escherichia coli is a common gastrointestinal enterobacteriaceae that contaminates food resulting in food poisoning. Due to prolonged exposure to antibiotic therapy in their livestock hosts, E. coli continue to develop antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Most E. coli strains are commensal but may attain virulence genes through horizontal gene transfer. A cross sectional observational study was carried out to determine the total E. coli count in polony, beef burgers and traditionally ferm...
ABSTRACT Finger millet is chief food crop for millions of people in the world. It is ranked third in cereal production in semi-arid regions after sorghum and pearl millet. It is generally grown all over the world especially the developing countries with stable yield and strong adaptability to a number of agro-ecological environments. Despite its importance, finger millet increase in production is limited by abiotic stresses especially drought and salinity which affects the plant in the field ...
ABSTRACT Pain, pyrexia and inflammation cause unnecessary discomfort, suffering and also lower productivity of the victims. Conventional drugs for these conditions are expensive, not easily available and have adverse side effects. There is therefore need to develop alternative therapeutic agents, such as medicinal plant derivatives, that are cheaper and have lesser side effects. Terminalia brownii is used in traditional medicine to treat pain, pyrexia, inflammation but there is no scientific ...
ABSTRACT Pain, pyrexia and inflammation cause unnecessary discomfort, suffering and also lower productivity of the victims. Conventional drugs for these conditions are expensive, not easily available and have adverse side effects. There is therefore need to develop alternative therapeutic agents, such as medicinal plant derivatives, that are cheaper and have lesser side effects. Terminalia brownii is used in traditional medicine to treat pain, pyrexia, inflammation but there is no scientific ...
ABSTRACT Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a low growing fleshly leaved annual plant that can be used as a vegetable and or to treat a variety of diseases. This study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of cow, chicken and pig manure on the plant height, leaf number, leaf length as well as root length of spinach. An experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at Africa University between the months of June and July 2018. The experiment was a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with chicken ma...
Abstract Salmonella enterica and Shigella dysenteria are different groups of Gram-negative bacteria. Salmonella infection affects the small and large intestine (enterocolitis) whereas Shigella infection affects the colon (colitis). Diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever are the main symptoms in both diseases. The study was conducted among Beitbridge residents who visited Beitbridge District Hospital suffering from diarrhea in the months December 2017 and January 2018. The aim of the study was t...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a global health problem resulting in 435,000 deaths annually with 90% of the deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 70% of the Kenyan population is at risk of malaria and western Kenya is an endemic region with prevalence of 38%. The Anopheles gambiae complex and Anopheles funestus are the main vectors of human malaria in Africa with Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and Anopheles gambiae arabiensis being the main vectors in western Kenya. Anopheles gambiae sensu stric...
ABSTRACT In sub-Saharan Africa, Plasmodium falciparum infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality mostly among children under five years. In Kenya, severe malaria anaemia prevalence is at 19%. In malaria holo-endemic region of western Kenya, P. falciparum infections account for major proportion of children with anaemia that leads to severe malaria anaemia (SMA, Hb
ABSTRACT Pollution of the aquatic environment is a major global concern as it is emerging that pollutants such as organic compounds are rising each day. The anthropogenic activities such as agricultural and wastewater effluent contribute to the pollution of aquatic resources. The aim of this study was to determine the spatial occurrence and concentration of organic compounds in water and sediment along Sebakwe River in Kwekwe. Water and sediment samples were collected once in January 2019 at...
ABSTRACT Gloria and Nua 45 are two of the most commonly grown sugar bean varieties in Zimbabwe. Beans are a cheap alternative source of protein and have been on high demand due to the ever-rising meat prices. Gloria and Nua 45 are being affected by the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae) feeding which is the most problematic insect pest of beans. The aphid feeds on foliage of plants resulting in stunted growth and reduced yields. A comparison of susceptibility to feeding by A. fabae was done to d...
ABSTRACT The exact etiological mechanism underlying endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) remains unknown. Past studies show T and B cells are immuno-deregulated in children from malaria holoendemic regions. However, no study has examined the effect of P. falciparum transmissions on Natural Killer (NK) cell, which shape T and B immune responses. NK cells are critical in immunosurveillance, elimination of cancerous cells and controlling EBV viremia. This is by production of anti-viral cytokines like ...
ABSTRACT More than 35% of infants residing in Chulaimbo regions are infected with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) by six months of age, typically when maternal antibodies are expected to provide protection to the infants before they develop their own denovo antibodies. It has been reported that maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies get transferred to the fetus from the second week of gestation and reach maximum levels by the third trimester. Transplacental transfer of these antibodies may be ...
ABSTRACT In 2015, 10.4 million people worldwide had tuberculosis (TB) and 1.4 million deaths occurred, 400 000 of whom were HIV-positive, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounted for 81% of these cases. In 2015, 480 000 new cases of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) were detected globally. In Kenya, in 2015, 107 000 people had TB and 36 000 were HIV co-infected. In western Kenya, the prevalence of TB and HIV in 2015 was 39.2% and 15.1%, respectively and in 2008, 10 cases of MDR-TB occurred. Patients...