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1
Tarrant, Valerie M., and valerie tarrant@deakin edu au. "Melbourne's indigenous plants movement: The return of the natives." Deakin University. School of History, Heritage and Society, 2005. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20061207.113857.
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This thesis examines Greater Melbournes indigenous plants movement from the 1930s to the early twenty first century. It demonstrates the important scientific and educational role of the public intellectual, Professor John Turner, and of the Melbourne University Botany School which he led for thirty five years. The case study of the movement within the City of Sandringham and its successor the City of Bayside reveals how the inhabitants of an urbanised are responded to threats to the indigenous trees and wildflowers of their neighbourhood, stimulating botanists to assist them and using political means in order to achieve their conservation objectives. The thesis draws upon a range of local archives, conservation literature and private papers.
2
Larson, Daniel. "Non-indigenous freshwater plants : patterns, processes and risk evaluation /." Uppsala : Dept. of Environmental Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2007. http://epsilon.slu.se/200715.pdf.
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Albrecht, Matthew A. "Reproductive Biology of Medicinal Woodland Herbs Indigenous to the Appalachians." Ohio : Ohio University, 2006. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1163427974.
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Essack, Magbubah. "Screening extracts of indigenous South African plants for the presence of anti-cancer compounds." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_8767_1210844967.
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Early man dabbled with the use of plant extracts to cure ailments. This practice has been passed down from generation to generation and today more than 50% of the world'sdrugs are natural products or derivatives thereof. Scientists have thus established a branch of research called natural product research. This branch of research involves the identification and purification of secondary metabolites with a specific biological activity. The methodology involves the screening of plant products for a specific biological activity, purification of the biologically active natural product by separation technology and structure determination. The biologically active natural products is then further scrutinized to serve as a novel drug or lead compound for the development of a novel drug. This research exploited this research methodology.
5
Abudjain, Ibrahim M. N. "The use of indigenous plants in landscape of Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6009/.
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Throughout the world increasing use is being made of native plants in urban landscapes, both to preserve regional visual character, conserve native biodiversity and to reduce energy inputs in the urban landscape. In Saudi Arabia most designed urban landscapes employ non indigenous plants. This use of exotic plants is problematic as these species require considerably more water and maintenance, This study establishes a basic understanding of the use of twenty Saudi indigenous plants for semi-nature landscape. We have identified the suitable methods for breaking dormancy and the germinating of these species. We have also selected the most appropriate time for germination by defining the optimal germination temperature of each species. In general most of these species were found to have adaptation to cope with water stress and salinity. For most of these species the maximum germination percentage was at the temperatures between 20 T and 30 T. Competition is one of the most important factors which controls the success of a sown community. Therefore we have investigated the establishment of species in mixture under simulated Saudi conditions using microcosm competition experiments within communities of native species. The results show that in the survival of sown species soil moisture stress was the major factor determining survival. Greater competition for moisture was demonstrated in the weedy treatment. It is clear that weeds would be a problem in practice in the field in dry climate. In terms of the growth of these species, at high water stress; weeds are less competitive than under low water stress. Therefore on very weedy sites irrigation would not be valuable in practice. Cutting may be helpful for the establishment of these species within a community in weedy sites. Overall, the results of these studies demonstrate that these twenty Saudi indigenous species could be used in landscape within the target species method where plants are grown individually or in-groups of one or two species. Also they can be used within the target community method for creating communities in practice in semi-natural landscape projects in Saudi Arabia.
6
Gutu, Ketema Tolossa. "Bioassay-guided phytochemical study of indigenous medicinal plants of Ethiopia." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/28964.
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In many developing countries, farmers and pastoralists still rely on their indigenous knowledge, practices and locally available plants to control nematode parasitic infections, both in livestock and humans. The overall aim of my thesis was to undertake bioassay-guided phyto-chemical study of extracts and their constituents from Ethiopian anti-parasitic plants used by healers to control gastrointestinal nematode parasites in livestock to validate their ethno-medicinal use and to characterise and identify their active ingredients. As a first experiment (Chapter Three), four types of crude extracts (water, 70% methyl-alcohol, absolute methanol and acetone) of four indigenous Ethiopian medicinal plants (Adenia species, Cissus ruspolii, Ipomoea eriocarpa and Euphorbia thymifolia) were screened against Teladorsagia circumcincta egg hatching in vitro, not only as a first step to validate the traditional healers claim but also to choose the most promising plant extract(s) for further phyto-chemical studies. The egg hatching inhibition (EHI) test results revealed that the anti-parasitic properties of these plants depended on plant species, dose, and solvent polarity. The water extracts of both C. ruspolii and Adenia sp. exhibited largest, up to 100% EHI but also larval migration inhibition activities, and were selected for further studies. The second experiment (Chapter Four) assessed the nature of active constituents in these extracts by physico-chemical methods. It was observed that the major constituents of both plant extracts responsible for the EHI activities are likely highly polar, water-soluble, small and moderately heat-labile molecules. The third and fourth experiments (Chapters Five and Six) consisted of separating Cissus ruspolii and Adenia sp. water extracts into discrete fractions by gel-permeation chromatography, EHI tests of Bio-Gel P-2 fractions followed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) profiling of these fractions to detect separated spots (in day light, under UV-light or after staining with various staining reagents) and also to see how elution patterns of separated spots affected by column parameters. The EHI tests on the fractions obtained revealed that the active constituents of C. ruspolii and Adenia sp. water crude extracts were eluted into few fractions based on their molecular sizes. The TLC profilings of these fractions identified spot patterns of active and inactive fractions, which allowed pooling of active constituents based on their EHI and TLC profiling into three pools for each plant. The fifth experiment (Chapter Seven) was to isolate and purify compounds from these pools using various preparative planar and column chromatographic methods. Sequential applications of column chromatography followed by preparative thin layer chromatography isolated and purified five active compounds from C. ruspolii and two active compounds from Adenia sp. The sixth experiment (Chapter Eight) was to characterize and propose/elucidate structures of compounds from the active fractions using chromatographic, analytical and spectroscopic methods. In this regard, the structures of two oleanane type triterpenoid saponins isolated from one of active fractions of Adenia sp. were proposed based on their mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data with support of compounds property, TLC and literature. Similar outcomes for C. ruspolii were not achieved due to lack of sufficient sample to run 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT), contamination of some purified compounds with ill-characterised substance from the preparative TLC matrix and in some cases mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data did not support each other. The last experiment (Chapter Nine) was to assess anthelmintic efficacy and safety of C. ruspolii and Adenia sp. crude water extracts in Heligmosomoides bakeri infected mice. This in vivo test revealed that both plant extracts exhibited significant reduction in worm burdens and worm egg excretion, with moderate effects on haematology and organ weights at tolerated dosages. In conclusion, both in vitro and in vivo data revealed that Adenia sp. and C. ruspolii have anthelmintic properties, thus validating traditional healer claims and supporting ethno-medicinal use. The bioassay-guided phytochemical study resulted in the isolation of a number of active compounds from these plants, for some of which a structure has been proposed.
7
Mailula, Alice Shaena. "The ethnotaxonomic principles of useful indegenous plants of the Mamabolo Community in the Limpopo Province." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2369.
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Thesis (M.A(Folklore)) --University of Limpopo, 2009This study contains documentation and naming of indigenous plant species of the GaMamabolo area. Knowledge about their classification and their local natural resources has been acknowledged through this study. It is not only naming and classification but extending information about interaction of useful indigenous plants with human society. This is followed by a survey of 85 plant species found in the Mamabolo area. The immense cultural significance of the traditional knowledge system is portrayed in this study. ii
8
Babajide, Jelili Olalekan. "Chemical and biological investigation into some selected African indigenous medicinal plants." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2009. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_7625_1297404173.
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African medicinal plants are commonly used throughout Africa to treat a variety of ailments including wounds and ulcers, cough and chest complaints, gingivitis, fever and gonorrhoea, indication all related to infection and inflammation. In screening several plant species from an inventory of common medicinal plants from both South and West Africa for diverse medicinal purposes, 6 plants were selected because of their interesting and useful ethnomedicinal values.
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Mosime, Bonolo. "In vitro conservation of selected endangered plant species indigenous to the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2343.
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Thesis (MTech (Horticulture))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016.This study focused on optimising four types of in-vitro conservation methods, namely: 1), micropropagation, 2) in-vitro slow growth, 3) seed germination and 4) cryopreservation for selected endangered plant species indigenous to the Cape Floristic Region. It is one of the targets set by United Nations millennium development goals, to integrate different conservation measures in order to preserve plant diversity and mitigate losses of genetic diversity. Therefore this study uses Phalaenopsis hybrids as a trial species that can be studied for the conservation of endangered Disa and Eulophia species through micropropagation and in vitro slow growth. Also conservation attempts on Leucadendron and Mimetes species that occur in the Cape Floristic Region were attemted to increase population densities by increasing germination percentages using smoke. Furthermore, the study attempted to store seeds by assessing different cooling rates for optimising cryopreservation measures for effective conservation. The use of tissue culture to increase propagules especially critically endangered species in South African has proven to be feasible. For the trial hybrids, shoot and protocorm explants of Phalaenopsis Psychosis Pink X P. No. 1; P. Large white X P. Large pink; P. No. 1 X P. Large pink; P. Mini pink X Brighton belle; and the P. aphrodite formed clusters of protocorms and shoots when cultured on ½ strength MS media supplemented with 10, 20 and 30gL-1 banana extract or ½ strength Murashige and Skoog, (1962) (MS) media supplemented with peptone. Continuous protocorms formation could therefore be obtained by culturing endangered Disa and Eulophia shoots and protocorms on banana containing media. Plantlet conversion from somatic embryos produced on 10gL-1 banana extract enriched media was successfully achieved on ½ strength MS supplemented with 20gL-1 sucrose and no plant growth regulators in the medium. However, optimum rooting was achieved on ½ strength MS supplemented with 30gL-1 of banana extract and this medium yielded the highest survival percentages for plantlet acclimatisation. Furthermore, ½ strength MS supplemented with 1gL-1 of peptone served as a stimulant for shoot development and protocorm formation. When coupled with banana extract at all stages of development, regeneration and rooting were enhanced.
10
Guler, Mehmet. "Evaluation Of State Owned Indigenous Coal Fired Power Plants Including Coal Reserves." Master's thesis, METU, 2010. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12611591/index.pdf.
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Fossil fuels has preserved their importance in gradually increasing production and consumption of both energy and electricity of the world. Asia, especially China and India, has arisen new actors of the sector.
Energy and electricity consumption of Turkey has also increased in parallel with her economic development, but due to her limited resources, she has become more and more energy dependent in order to meet her growing demand.
Although hard coal is only found around Zonguldak region, with its abundant and widely spread reserves, Turkey ranked world&rsquos third place in lignite production in 2008. Having low calorific value together with high ash and moisture content, most of lignites extracted is being consumed in thermic power plants located near those reserves. In the first two chapters of this study, energy in the world and Turkey will be considered seperately, then coal resources in Turkey will be analysed in the next coming chapter. Indirect and direct greenhouse emissions presented to the UNFCCC will be handled in the fifth chapter In the last chapter, first past and present performances of all indigenous coal fired power plants will be analysed, then after projecting their generation and fuel needs, they are evaluated considering with the reserves they are located. Finally, at the end of decomissioning of those power plants, remaining reserves will be re-evaluated and additional new units will be proposed accordingly.
11
Mopai, Kgaugelo Lydia. "Screening, purification and characterisation of an active Hydroxynitrile Lyase (Nitrilase) from indigenous South African Plants." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1334.
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Thesis (MSc. (Biochemistry)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) are enzymes that catalyse enantioselective cleavage of the substrate in a reaction and are also used as important industrial biocatalysts for the synthesis of chiral cyanohydrins. The aim of the study was to screen indigenous South African plants for potential hydroxynitrile lyase activity, purify and biochemically characterise the active hydroxynitrile lyase(s) from the selected plants. Several indigenous plants were randomly collected, identified and screened for HNL activity. The plant parts (leaves, seeds or fruits) were processed using established experimental protocols in order to obtain the crude enzyme extracts. The enzymatic conversion of benzaldehyde and potassium cyanide to mandelonitrile was optimised and consequently used for the screening of HNL activity. Enzyme activity was detected in the crude enzyme extracts of Kalanchoe spp and Senecio spp and these were then designated as Ks and Sb, respectively. Ammonium sulphate fractionation, DEAE Toyopearl 650M and Concanavalin A chromatography techniques were then used in the purification process of the active crude enzyme extracts. Subsequently, two purified active fractions were isolated from each plant species with molecular masses estimated at 64.64 kDa and 64.06 kDa for the KsHNL enzymes and 70.60 kDa and 74.04 kDa for SbHNL enzymes. The optimum temperature and pH of all the isolated enzymes were determined as 50°C and pH 5, respectively. The experimental Km and Vmax values of the enzymes were respectively determined to be 0.33 and 0.73 mM and 1.238 and 1.948 μM/min for KsHNL; while that for SbHNL enzymes were 5.86 and 0.22 mM and 9.741 and 1.905 μM/min. The effect of additives and metal ions (viz., DTT, DEP, mercury chloride, magnesium chloride and zinc chloride) was determined. The experimental data obtained alluded to the notion that both KsHNL and SbHNL enzymes may contain the cysteine and serine residues next to their active sites and that a histidine residue may be involved in the catalytic activities of both the isolated KsHNL enzymes and one of the SbHNL enzymes. All the isolated enzymes from the two plant species did not seem to contain an FAD group. These findings compared favourably to the theoretical type II HNLs, although with a slight difference in that they displayed high molecular weights. Kalanchoe spp and Senecio spp are the two indigenous South African plants that were found to contain active HNLs. The isolated HNLs from the two plants have a potential to be xv purified to homogeneity, cloned and overexpressed into robust recombinant enzymes that can be used for large scale industrial applications.
12
Shava, Soul. "The use of indigenous plants as food by a rural community in the Eastern Cape : an educational exploration." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003699.
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Looking at the use of plants as food reflects how humankind has fashioned nature. There has been a significant change in production patterns from hunter-gathering through subsistence agriculture to technologically advanced commercial agriculture with a subsequent reduction in the diversity of plants used as food. A parallel trend in consumption patterns has occurred, from home-based food processing for subsistence through small- scale production to large-scale industrial processing and the commodification of food. The overall result of such trends is a narrowing of the food resource base and an increasing reliance on processed foods at the expense of traditional diets, accompanied by increasing diet-related health risks. This research is an ethnographic case study on the use of indigenous food plants by the community of Tuku A village in the Eastern Cape using interviews and observations as the main data collecting strategies. A nutritional analysis of some wild food plants was also carried out. An inventory of more than 70 food plant species was compiled, with the knowledge of such plants found among both the elderly and the youth. The incorporation of this knowledge into education systems is recommended. Of the wild food plants documented, some were non-indigenous indicating the dynamic nature of indigenous knowledge. Some wild spinach were left to grow amongst cultivated food plants, hinting at some form of ‘domestication’ in process. This observation together with the observation that wild fruit trees were selectively conserved highlights the possibility of the continued use of wild food contributing to conservation of botanical diversity. Community use of indigenous food was found to be diminishing. Stigmatisation of indigenous food plants, urbanisation, formal education, changes in lifestyle, and media were some of the factors possibly influencing this dietary shift. The community made links between diet and health, which correspond to modern scientific knowledge, with modern diet being lamented for ill health. The nutritional analysis revealed that wild food plants do contain essential dietary nutrients, an area recommended for further research.
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Ntshidi, Zanele. "A comparative assessment of the quantity and sources of water used by alien invasive prosopis spp and indigenous Acacia karroo in the Northern Cape Province." University of the Western Cape, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4760.
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>Magister Scientiae - MScInvasive alien plants (IAPs) are often reported to use more water than indigenous plants. Inaddition, IAPs have an ability to adapt to harsh environmental conditions and they tend to spread at rapid rates, thereby threatening the country’s water resources, agricultural land, and biodiversity. Much of South Africa is expected to get drier in future due to climate change and the new climatic conditions are also predicted to accelerate the rate at which alien plants will spread. Approximately 10 million hectares are currently estimated to have been invaded by alien plants in South Africa, with an estimated average annual rate of spread of more than 5%. The first objective of this study was to compare the water use by deep rooted tree species which include invasive alien Prosopis (sp) trees and the co-occurring indigenous A. karroo. These trees are growing in a flood plain of a groundwater dependent catchment in the Northern Cape Province. Both species are dependent on groundwater and thus compete with local communities for this resource. The second objective was to determine the sources of water that the trees were using in order to understand the impacts of each species on groundwater resources. Transpiration was measured using the heat ratio method of the heat pulse velocity sap flow technique while the volumetric soil water content was monitored at several depths down the soil profile using automated capacitance soil water content probes. Weather data was collected using an automatic weather station. Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen from plant, soil and groundwater samples were analysed to determine the sources of water used by the trees. Average tree density was approximately 613 stems per hectare for Prosopis compared to about 100 stems per hectare for A. karroo. Comparative measurements of water use shows that the annual stand level transpiration from Prosopis invasions was approximately 353 mm/year while that from A. karroo was only about 137 mm/year. Differences in stand transpiration were a result of the higher plant density for Prosopis than A. karroo. There were no significant differences in the transpiration rates of the two species for trees with a similar transpiring leaf area. Application of a two compartment linear mixing model for the oxygen isotope ratio during the peak transpiration period in summer showedthat Prosopis derived 23% of its water from the unsaturated zone and 77% from the saturated zone. A. karroo on the other hand derived 53% of its water from the unsaturated zone and47% from the saturated zone. Diurnal fluctuations in groundwater levels were strongly related to the transpiration dynamics of both species. This supports the observation that these deep rooted trees have substantial impacts on groundwater at the study site. Root sap flow patterns of Prosopis showed evidence of hydraulic redistribution wherein the groundwater abstracted by the tap roots was deposited in the shallow soil layers by lateral roots. However, the root sap flow patterns of A. karroo growing adjacent to the Prosopis did not show this phenomenon.
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Mukhadi, Fulufhelo Licken. "Phenology of indigenous and alien vascular flowering plants on sub-Antarctic Marion Island." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6890.
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Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Species’ seasonal behaviour is of paramount importance in understanding community functioning and dynamics. Recently, plant phenology has further gained significance as a reliable indicator of climate change impacts. Despite the importance of understanding plant dynamics, there are relatively few plant phenological records for the sub-Antarctic region, and where records exist they are often not extensive. Sub-Antarctic Marion Island, typical of Southern Ocean Islands, offers a useful setting for addressing these knowledge gaps. This study documented the vegetative and reproductive phenologies (or aggregate phenological patterns) of twelve indigenous and three alien vascular plant species on the island. The phenological differences among the species and distinct seasonal groupings (e.g. early, intermediate and late species) were examined. I also investigated the phenological differences among the indigenous and alien plant species. Furthermore, the onset of selected reproductive phenophases from the current records was compared with historical records for determining the extent of climate change-related alterations in phenology. Phenological data were collected fortnightly on five, 5 m x 5 m permanent plots per species (except for a few species) for a full growing season. Thus the sample size is n = 5 for all plant species except for Crassula moschata (n = 4), Juncus effusus (n=4) and Rumex acetosella (n=1). Sites of the same species were separated by at least 500 m except for the alien plant, Juncus effusus, where all four known populations were selected despite two of these populations being < 500 m apart. This study indicated that Marion Island plants grow throughout the year with no major peaks except in Azorella selago and Acaena magellanica which showed winter dormancy. However, reproduction in most plant species predominately occurred in spring and summer months. Pringlea antiscorbutica and Poa cookii were the first two species to set flower buds in September while most species dispersed their seeds in summer except for Agrostis magellanica and Crassula moschata which dispersed in early autumn. Distinct from most temperate systems, the reproductive seasonality displayed by Marion Island plant species is explained more by daylength than by temperature, perhaps due to the region’s typical thermal aseasonality. Interestingly, many cooccurring species and/or clades across the Falkland, Kerguelen, Macquarie and South Georgia Islands also showed similar flowering onset date to the Marion Island plants, further confirming their daylength sensitivity. However, other external factors seem to come into play at later events of reproduction. Consequently, fruit maturation time of similar species across the sub-Antarctic islands varied substantially despite the plants having flowered in the same month. Although plant species showed similar reproductive seasonality, there were significant differences among species phenologies i.e. phenophase timing, duration and peak occurrence dates. However, using 95% confidence intervals of Generalized Linear Models weighted means, and/or one-way ANOVA (Tukey post hoc test), three homogenous sets of species (early, late, or intermediate onsets) were identified based on flower bud, flowering and seed dispersal phenophase onset dates. The homogenous species groupings observed for flower buds also remained unchanged during flowering onset except for Cotula plumosa and Callitriche antarctica which switched groups. As for the seed dispersal timing, the pattern was not consistent with that of the flower bud and flowering onset homogenous groupings, except for Acaena magellanica and Agrostis magellanica which remained in the early and late groups, respectively. Conversely, in the case of the timing of other phenophases (pollen release, fruit set and fruit ripening), entire phenophase durations, and peak occurrence dates, species overlapped greatly, resulting in an unbroken progression or continuum of phenology among species. Similarly, the three alien plant species investigated here (Cerastium fontanum, Juncus effusus and Rumex acetosella) showed no consistent phenological differences from the rest of the species. However, a widespread alien plant species on Marion Island, C. fontanum, reproduced for most of the year, although its reproduction peak was in summer months as was the case for the rest of the species. This study also indicated that indigenous plant species have altered their reproductive phenologies since 1965. Although the response was species-specific, the majority of plant species significantly delayed the onset of reproductive activities in 2007 by comparison with 1965. However, it is not clear if the observed species response was caused by the now drier and warmer Marion Island climate or by discrepancies in reporting in the earlier studies and/or sampling differences between the recent and historical records. Therefore, these results should be taken with caution. In conclusion, this research provided a detailed phenological dynamics record for vascular plant species on the island. Over time these records may be used as a basis for monitoring and modelling the impact of climate on plant phenology on the island.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Spesies se seisoenale gedrag is van die allergrootste belang in die begrip van gemeenskapsfunksionering en dinamika. Meer onlangs het plant fenologie verdere betekenis verwerf as ‘n betroubare indikator vir die impakte van klimaatsverandering. Ondanks die belangrikheid om plant dinamika te verstaan, is daar relatief min plant fenologiese rekords vir die sub-Antarktiese streek en waar rekords wel bestaan is dit dikwels nie omvangryk nie. Sub- Antarktiese Marion Eiland, tipies van Suidelike Oseaan Eilande, bied ‘n nuttige ligging om hierdie kennis gapings aan te spreek. Hierdie studie het die vegetatiewe en voorplantingsfenologieë (of gesamentlike fenologiese patrone) van elf inheemse en drie uitheemse vaatplantspesies op die eiland gedokumenteer. Die fenologiese verskille tussen die spesies en duidelike seisoenale groeperings (bv. vroeë, intermediêre en laat spesies) is ondersoek. Ek het ook die betekenisvolle fenologiese verskille tussen die inheemse en uitheemse plantspesies ondersoek. Voorts, die aanvang van gekose voortplanting feno-fases van huidige rekords is vergelyk met historiese rekords om die mate van klimaatsverandering verbandhoudende veranderings in die fenologie te bepaal. Fenologiese data is twee weekliks ingesamel op vyf, 5 m x 5 m permanente plotte per spesie (behalwe vir ‘n paar spesies) vir ‘n volle groei seisoen. Dus, die insamelings grootte is n = 5 vir al die plantspesies behalwe vir C. moschata (n = 4), Juncus effusus (n=4) en Rumex acetosella (n=1). Persele vir dieselfde spesies is geskei deur ten minste 500 m, behalwe vir die uitheemse plant, Juncus effusus, waar al vier populasies wat bekend is gekies is, ten spyte daarvan dat twee van hierdie populasies < 500 m uitmekaar is. Hierdie studie het aangedui dat Marion Eiland plante regdeur die jaar groei, met geen belangrike spitstye nie, behalwe in Azorella selago en Acaena magellanica wat ‘n winter rusperiode wys. Hoe ookal, voortplanting in meeste van die plantspesies het hoofsaaklik voorgekom tussen die lente en somermaande. Pringlea antiscorbutica en Poa cookii was die eerste twee spesies om blomknoppe uit te stoot in September, terwyl die meeste spesies hulle sade versprei het gedurende die somer, behalwe vir Agrostis magellanica en Crassula moschata wat versprei het in vroeg herfs. Duidelik van meeste gematigde sisteme, word die voortplanting seisoenaliteit, getoon deur die Marion Eiland plantspesies, verduidelik meer deur daglengte as deur temperatuur, moontlik weens die streek se tipiese termiese a-seisoenaliteit. Interessant, baie spesies en/of afstameling-groeperings wat saam aangtref word dwarsoor die Falkland, Kerguelen, Macquarie en Suid Georgia Eilande wys ook soortgelyke bloei aanvangsdatums as die Marion Eiland plante, nog meer bevestigend van hulle dag-lengte sensitieweteit. Hoe ookal, ander eksterne faktore blyk betrokke te raak by latere gebeure van voortplanting. Gevolglik het vrug rypwordingstyd van dieselfde spesies oor die sub-Antarktiek noemenswaardig verskil, ten spyte daarvan dat die plante in dieselfde maand geblom het. Alhoewel plantspesies dieselfde voortplanting seisoenaliteit gewys het, was daar ‘n noemenswaardige veskil tussen spesie fenologieë, m. a. w. feno-fase tydsberekenning, tydsduur en spits voorkomsdatums. Hoe ookal, deur gebruik te maak van 95% betroubaarheid intervalle van Algemene Lineêre Modelle gewigte gemiddelde en/of een rigting ANOVA (Turkey post hoc toets), is drie homogene stelle van spesies (vroeë, laat en intermediêre aanvang) geïdentifiseer gebasseer op blomknop, bloei en saad verspreiding feno-fase aanvangsdatums. Die homogene spesie groeperings waargeneem op blomknoppe het ook onveranderd gebly gedurende bloei aanvang behalwe vir Cotula plumosa en Crassula antarctica wat groepe geruil het. Vir die saadverspreiding tydsberekenning was die patroon nie konstant met die van die blomknop en bloei aanvang homogene groepe nie, behalwe vir Acaena magellanica en Agrostis magellanica wat in die vroeë en laat groepe respektiewelik gebly het. Omgekeerd, in die geval van tydsberekenning van ander feno-fases (stuifmeel vrysetelling, vrugwerp, vrugrypwording), volledige feno-fase tydsduur en spits voorkomsdatums het spesies grootliks oorvleuel, wat ‘n ongebroke vordering of deurlopendheid van fenologie tussen die spesies tot gevolg het. Ooreenkomstig het die drie uitheemse spesies wat hier ondersoek is (Cerastium fontanum, Juncus effusus en Rumex acetosella) geen bestendige fenologiese verskille van die res van die spesies gewys nie. Hoe ookal, ‘n wydverspreide uitheemse spesie op Marion Eiland, Cerastium fontanum, het deur die meeste van die jaar voortgeplant, hoewel met ‘n voorplanting spits in die somer maande soos die res van die spesies. Hierdie studie dui ook aan dat inheemse plantspesies hulle voortplanting fenologieë verander het sedert 1965. Alhoewel die reaksie spesiespesifiek was, het die meerderheid van die plantspesies hulle voortplanting aanvang aansienlik vertraag gedurende 2007 in vergelyking met 1965. Hoe ookal, dis nie duidelik of die waargeneemde spesie reaksie was as gevolg van die nou droër en warmer Marion Eiland klimaat of deur teenstrydighede in verslagewing gedurende die vroëre studies en/of insameling verskille tussen die onlangse en historiese rekords. Daarom moet hierdie resultate met versigtigheid hanteer word. In samevatting, hierdie navorsing voorsien ‘n gedetaileerde fenologiese dinamieka rekord vir vaatplantspesies op die eiland. Oor tyd kan hierdie rekords gebruik word as basis vir monitering en modellering van die impak van klimaat.
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Mokgethi, Thabang. "The investigation of indigenous South African medicinal plants for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3434.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-122 ).This study investigated four indigenous South African medicinal plants that are commonly used in traditional medicine for their bioactivity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Crude plant extracts were prepared and characterized using HPLC analysis. The crude rhizome extracts of Agapanthus praecox, leaf extracts of Olea europaea subsp.
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Witbooi, Hildegard. "In vitro propagation of Agathosma betulina an indigenous plant of economic importance." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/841.
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Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Technology: Horticultural Sciences
in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the
CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Supervisor: Dr L Kambizi
Co-supervisor: Dr NP Makunga
Cape Town
December 2013Agathosma betulina (Berg.) Pillans, previously known as Barosma betulina, is a member of the Rutaceae family, and indigenous to the fynbos botanical biome of the Western Cape of South Africa. It is commonly known as buchu. Extracts as well as powdered leaves have traditionally been used for the treatment of various ailments. The increase in the international demand for A. betulina for health as well as food and beverage benefits, have raised concerns over exploitation of wild populations and the lack of horticultural information necessitates this study to evaluate the propagation of this economical important species. The main objective of this study was to establish a simple and highly productive micropropagation protocol for A. betulina through experimenting with nodal explants. Testing of the effect of various treatments (physical scarification, chemical scarification, GA, stratification, smoke and combinations thereof) on the in vitro germination of A. betulina seeds was done to elucidate the factors which control seed germination. The study revealed that the physical scarification and smoke-induced germination had a significant effect on germination percentages. In terms of germination rate, the radical generally started to appear after approximately 10 days in the physical scarification with smoke treatment. Initial decontamination methods with the exposure of various concentrations of NaOCl gave fatal results, however 1.5% NaOCl had more phenolic reactions rather than fungal or bacterial contamination. Interestingly, contamination rates of explants were influenced by the stage of maturity of the explant material. This plant material was used to test different strengths of regeneration media, to ensure that the explants receive ample nutrients. Results made exhibited that ½ MS was the best strength for growing A. betulina nodal explants. Compared comparison between in vitro derived explants and ex vitro collected explants showed that the ex vitro derived explants had significant results, but the explants lost vigour soon after the initial exponential growth leading to the explants dying off. Furthermore, ex vitro decontaminated plant material was not economically viable to continue with. Seedlings derived from germinated seeds appeared to be the preferred method of propagation as this spent the least time in culture and produced a stable plant with an established root system, which is essential during the hardening off process after in vitro growth. When exposing nodal explants to phytohormone 2,4-D it responds best to dosages 0.5mg Lˉ¹ and 1mg Lˉ¹. Phytohormone BA was very effective in producing soft friable callus. The best results were shown when 0.5mg Lˉ¹ BA was applied to ½ MS media. For both shoot length and multiple shoot production, a combination of phytohormones BA-NAA (1: 0.5mgLˉ¹) had the most significant results. Interestingly, a higher phytohormone concentration of NAA is necessary to develop multiple adventitious roots. The effect of 3mg Lˉ¹ was significant in that it resulted in multiple adventitious roots, but fewer calli was observed in this treatment. Micropropagation becomes valuable as little attention between subcultures is needed; making it less labour intensive compared to conventional nursery propagation systems where weeding watering and spraying of plants are labour intensive. In the traditional world of medicine, more so in Southern Africa, extracts are prepared by adding boiling water to the plant material; however commercial ethanol is used as an extractant. Establishment of the essential oil quality of the in vitro cultures post exposure to various treatments was done. Analysis of essential oils from A. betulina resulted in the identification of twenty one compounds. The results showed qualitative as well as quantitative differences amongst the samples used in the study. The highest relative concentration of limonene was observed in the callus of nodal explants after it was exposed to 0.5mg lˉ¹ NAA. No pulegone was found in this treatment making it ideal for limonene production. This suggests that liquid culture with the same treatment may produce more calli making it ideal for the production of limonene.
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Wickens, Kristen M. "A search for biologically active compounds in Acacia (Mimosaceae) species." Thesis, Curtin University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1262.
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Indigenous Australians were also known to use plants for medicinal purposes. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have used native plants as a source of medicinal agents. Some tribes living in Central Australia still, to this day, prefer to use traditional medicines in favour of the more common and readily available western medicines. A number of plant species endemic to Australia are listed in various Aboriginal pharmacopoeias, with approximately one-third of those species belonging to two genera, Acacia and Eremophila. Of the 1100 recognised species of Acacia, approximately 900 occur in Australia. At least thirty of these species were utilised by the Indigenous Australians as a source of medicine. Extracts of 8 Acacia species were screened using four frontline bioassays. These were the brine shrimp lethality test, the crown gall tumour assays, the disc diffusion antibiotic assay and the seed germination test to determine if any of the species were biologically active. Of all the species screened, Acacia pruinocarpa showed the most promise. The species demonstrated significant activity at concentrations at low as 3.7ppm, which is well below the standard 400ppm exhibited by potassium dichromate (Sam, 1993). Acacia adsurgens and A. dictophleba were the next two promising species exhibiting activity at concentrations of 16.12ppm and 37ppm respectively. This was a trend that was also observed in the Lettuce seed germination test for allelopathy with these three species showing the most promise. Interestingly the potency of A. pruinocarpa extract decreased significantly when it was re- screened after being put through a polyamide column. It can therefore be suggested that as tannins are removed by the polyamide column, the biological activity exhibited by A. pruinocarpa is a result of the tannin content in the species (2%), although more testing is required.Both A. pruinocarpa and A. adsurgens showed promise as anti-tumour activity when used in the Crown Gall Tumour Assay (CGTA). Acacia pruinocarpa and A. adsurgens both exhibited significant activity when compared to the control producing inhibition percentages of 31% and 37% respectively. Surprisingly, only one of the Acacia species tested inhibited pathogenic growth when tested on the common pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogens and Candida albicans. Acacia bivenosa was the only species to exhibit any activity when tested on the pathogens. This activity, however is not considered to be significant, as the species was only active against one of pathogens tested, Staphylococcus aureus. In order to be considered to be significant, a species must be active against two or more pathogens. It is however, worthy of further evaluation. Acacia species are among the large number of plants that have long been regarded sources of biological activity. This study was guided by the indigenous use of Acacia species as sources of medicine, which led to the use of front-line bioassays. All of the species tested exhibited some form of biological activity. Acacia pruinocarpa demonstrated the most promise as a source of novel biologically active compounds exhibiting activity at very low concentrations. Such compounds have not been determined as it was outside the scope of this study to identify the active constituents of this species. However, it has been suggested that tannins are responsible for eliciting some of the activity observed in A. pruinocarpa. All of the species screened in this study are worthy of further evaluation. The bioassays used in this study are good examples of front-line bioassays. All of the tests used in the study fulfil the criterion, which defines a good test.
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Sithavhakhomu, Thilivhali Simon. "Challenges facing local communities in utilising and sustaining indigenous medicinal plants in the Thengwe village of Limpopo Province." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/827.
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Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2012The main aim or purpose of this study was to look at the ways and the strategies of minimizing\ mitigating the over-harvesting of indigenous medicinal plants in order to use them sustainably. The task of identifying and assessing challenges facing local communities in utilizing and sustaining indigenous medicinal plants in Thengwe village and their implications on environmental conservation and management of natural resources was done during the pilot survey. The environmental field survey was conducted after gaining permission to enter into the identified study areas including the Mutavhatsindi Nature Reserve. The result revealed that most of the indigenous medicinal plants are used for healing, religious, economical and for protection purposes. Most of the indigenous medicinal plants in the study area are depleted and many of them are facing extinction. The study was qualitative in design. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire were used. The questionnaire had both open-ended and closed questions. The study area was Thengwe Village in the Mutale Municipality. The existence of medicinal plants is threatened by people `s perceptions and attitudes towards them. For some indigenous medicinal plants, depletion is at a high rate due to over-harvesting and because the plants when traded by herbalists they have a premium price attached to them. Interestingly, perhaps surprisingly, the majority of young people hold negative attitudes towards the indigenous medicinal plants due to poor knowledge of the value of indigenous medicinal plants, in contrast to the elders who appreciate their role and consider them as part of their culture, economy and religion. One of the findings is that medicinal plants were found to be important to the community members as the source of income and creation of jobs for the medicinal collectors who sell the species to traditional healers. For the reason of preserving indigenous medicinal plants and others as the environmental resources, this study recommends that there should be strong intergovernmental relationships between the National, Provincial and Local governments in order to prevent over-harvesting of the medicinal plants. The indigenous medicinal plants are equally important to biodiversity students and researchers who want to study and research indigenous medicinal plants which play an important role in the improvement of the livelihoods of community members. Furthermore, education campaigns within the communities and school learners are recommended to encourage the prevention, sustainability and utilization of the indigenous medicinal plants. Additionally, the legal authorities should be empowered to prosecute all people who may be found illegally in possession of indigenous medicinal plants, as well as endangered and protected species. Heavy fines and charges should be imposed on such culprits. Of importance is the fact that the results and recommendations of this study may facilitate the teaching of environmental education and management of natural resources as well as boost the local economy of the Vhembe district Municipality by showing that medicinal plants in the area can be seen as a viable tourist attraction.
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Labriola, Christine. "Environment, Culture, and Medicinal Plant Knowledge in an Indigenous Amazonian Community." FIU Digital Commons, 2009. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/143.
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Diminishing cultural and biological diversity is a current global crisis. Tropical forests and indigenous peoples are adversely affected by social and environmental changes caused by global political and economic systems. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate environmental and livelihood challenges as well as medicinal plant knowledge in a Yagua village in the Peruvian Amazon. Indigenous peoples’ relationships with the environment is an important topic in environmental anthropology, and traditional botanical knowledge is an integral component of ethnobotany. Political ecology provides a useful theoretical perspective for understanding the economic and political dimensions of environmental and social conditions. This research utilized a variety of ethnographic, ethnobotanical, and community-involved methods. Findings include data and analyses about the community’s culture, subsistence and natural resource needs, organizations and institutions, and medicinal plant use. The conclusion discusses the case study in terms of the disciplinary framework and offers suggestions for research and application.
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Phiri, E. E. "Species occupancy, distribution and abundance : indigenous and alien invasive vascular plants on sub-Antarctic Marion Island." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/47001.
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Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Macroecological relationships have rarely been studied at wide spatial scales and across geographic ranges of species in the field in the sub-Antarctic. In this thesis I examined the occupancy, distribution and abundance, and the relationships thereof, of indigenous plants and alien species at broad (island-wide) and fine scales across sub-Antarctic Marion Island. The impacts of alien species and their interactions with indigenous plants were also investigated. I examined the nature of the abundance structure of a cushion-forming, vascular plant, Azorella selago, at the island-wide scale. Moreover, the hypothesis that species reach their highest abundances at the centre of their geographic range and decline in abundance towards the range edges was tested. Azorella selago cushions were counted in 8 m x 8 m quadrats, placed regularly at 1 minute latitude and longitude intervals across Marion Island. Using spatially non-explicit and explicit methods, this study showed that the abundance structure of A. selago had a more complex pattern of high abundance patches and low abundance gaps in its island-wide distribution. Subsequently, the hypothesis of an abundant centre distribution was not supported for A. selago across Marion Island. Rather, there were sharp discontinuities at both the coastal and altitudinal (667 m a.s.l.) limits for the species, between which little pattern in altitudinal abundance structure existed. Mice (Mus musculus) have recently been found to cause extensive structural damage to A. selago. The structural influence of mice on vegetation structure at the landscape scale has largely been overlooked on many sub-Antarctic islands. I mapped the distribution of evidence of mouse damage within the cushions of A. selago across the island using systematic (at 1 minute latitude and longitude intervals) and opportunistic sampling. Approximately 40 % of the systematically sampled sites had evidence of mouse damage to A. selago. Furthermore, a third of cushions in opportunistically sampled sites was damaged. Mouse damage was high in sites of low A. selago abundance, emphasizing that impacts of mice may be greater in low cushion abundance areas. This damage sometimes led to the disintegration of entire cushions. Given that A. selago acts as a nurse plant and supports high abundances of indigenous invertebrates, the impacts of mice on this keystone species may have significant ecological implications. Studies on interactions between alien and indigenous plants are limited within the sub-Antarctic. I examined the fine-scale distributions and co-occurrences of alien plants, Agrostis stolonifera and Sagina procumbens, and the indigenous Acaena magellanica (in 2 m x 2 m plots, subdivided into 0.25 m x 0.25 m quadrats) along rivers on Marion Island. Environmental variables were important for the occurrence of these species. In particular, 42.95 % and 24.82 % of the deviance in the occurrence of A. stolonifera and S. procumbens, respectively, was explained by environmental variables, compared to 17.35 % for A. magellanica. Furthermore, the co-occurrence of A. magellanica with A. stolonifera was significantly influenced by environmental variables. Significant positive spatial associations between A. magellanica and A. stolonifera were found, while the interactions of either species with S. procumbens were either spatially dissociated or random. Therefore, this study highlighted that alien species are responding to different environmental variables and conditions on Marion Island. Sagina procumbens seems to be less sensitive to the island’s environmental conditions and may thus be affecting biodiversity at broader ranges. This thesis provides unparalleled data on the distributions and interactions of indigenous plants and alien species for Marion Island. Alien species are undoubtedly posing significant threats to indigenous plants on the island and this thesis presents insight into interactions of species, specifically plants, an approach underrepresented in the sub-Antarctic to date.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Makro-ekologiese verhoudings is selde bestudeer op wye ruimtelike skale en oor geografiese gebiede van spesies in die veld in die sub-Antarktiek. In hierdie tesis het ek die digtheid, bewoning, verspreiding en die verhoudings daarvan, van inheemse plante en uitheemse spesies ondersoek op breë (eiland-wyd) en smal skale oor sub-Antarktiese Marion Eiland. Die impakte van uitheemse spesies en hul interaksies met inheems plante is ook ondersoek. Ek het die aard van die digtheidstruktuur ondersoek van 'n kussing-vormende, vaatplant, Azorella selago, op die eiland-wydte skaal. Bowenal is die hipotese dat spesies hul hoogste digtheid bereik in die sentrum van hul geografies gebied en afneem in digtheid na die grense van die gebied getoets. Azorella selago kussings is getel in 8 m x 8 m kwadrante, wat eweredig geplaas is op 1 minuut breedte- en lengtegraad intervalle oor Marion Eiland. Deur gebruik te maak van ruimtelik nie-eksplisiete en eksplisiete metodes, het hierdie studie getoon dat die digtheidstruktuur van A. selago ‘n meer komplekse patroon van hoë digtheidslaslappe en lae digtheidsgapings in sy eiland-wyd verspreiding het. Vervolgens is die hipotese van 'n digte sentrum verspreiding nie gesteun vir A. selago oor Marion Eiland nie. Daar was eerder skerp diskontinuïteite by beide die kus- en hoërliggende (667 m bo seespieël) grense vir die spesie, waartussen daar ’n oneweredige patroon in digtheidstruktuur bestaan het. Onlangs is bevind dat muise (Mus musculus) uitgebreide struktuele skade aan A. selago veroorsaak. Die struktuele invloed van muise op plantegroei struktuur op landskapskaal is grootliks oor die hoof gesien op baie sub-Antarktiese eilande. Ek het die verspreiding van die bewyse van muisskade binne die kussings van A. selago oor die eiland gekarteer deur gebruik te maak van sistematiese (tot 1 minuut breedte- en lengtegraad intervalle) en opportunistiese opnames. Ongeveer 40 % van die sistematiese opname kwadrante het bewyse van muis skade aan A. selago vertoon. Verder, ‘n derde van die kussings in die opportunistiese opname kwadrante was beskadig. Muisskade was hoog in plotte met lae A. selago volopheid, wat beklemtoon dat impakte van muise groter mag wees in lae kussing digtheid gebiede. Hierdie skade het partykeer gelei tot die verbrokkeling van hele kussings. Gegewe dat A. selago as 'n verpleegsterplant optree en ’n hoë digtheid van inheemse invertebrata ondersteun, mag die impakte van muise op hierdie hoeksteen spesie beduidende ekologiese implikasies tot gevolg hê. Studies oor interaksies tussen uitheemse- en inheemse plante is beperk in die sub-Antarktiese gebied. Ek het die smal-skaal verspreidings ondersoek en medevoorkoms van uitheemse plante, Agrostis stolonifera en Sagina procumbens, en die inheems Acaena magellanica (in 2 m x 2 m kwadrante, subverdeel in 0. 25 m x 0. 25 m kwadrante) langs riviere op Marion Eiland. Omgewingsveranderlikes was belangrik vir die voorkoms van hierdie spesies. In besonder, 42.95 % en 24.82 % van die afwykings in die voorkoms van A. stolonifera en S. procumbens, onderskeidelik, is verduidelik deur omgewingsveranderlikes, vergeleke met 17.35 % vir A. magellanica. Verder, die medevoorkoms van A. magellanica saam met A. stolonifera is beduidend beinvloed deur omgewingsveranderlikes. Beduidende positiewe ruimtelike assosiasies tussen A. magellanica en A. stolonifera is gevind, terwyl die interaksies van beide spesies met S. procumbens was of ruimtelik nie-geassosieerd of lukraak. Daarom het hierdie studie uitgelig dat uitheemse spesies reageer op verskillende omgewingsveranderlikes op Marion Eiland. Sagina procumbens blyk minder sensitief te wees tot die eiland se omgewingsomstandighede en mag dus moontlik biodiversiteit op breër vlakke beïnvloed. Hierdie tesis voorsien onge-ewenaarde data oor die verspreiding en interaksies van inheems plante en uitheemse spesies vir Marion Eiland. Uitheemse spesies hou ongetwyfeld ’n beduidende bedreiging in vir inheems plante op die eiland, en hierdie tesis bied insig in die interaksies van spesies, spesifiek plante – ’n benadering wat swak verteenwoordig was in die sub-Antarktiese gebied tot op hede.
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Cunningham, Anthony Balfour. "The resource value of indigenous plants to rural people in a low agricultural potential area." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28314.
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Asafo-Adjei, Robert Tetteh. "From imifino to umfuno : a case study foregrounding indigenous agricultural knowledge in school-based curriculum development." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003731.
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This work is a school-based case study conducted amongst learners of a rural High School and the immediate community in Whittlesea in the Eastern Cape where I teach. The research was conducted by using different research methods such as worksheets, questionnaires, interviews, practical activities and observations as well as photographs to investigate three indigenous wild local vegetable food plants (imifino). The fundamental assumption of the research is that, imifino can be looked after and cared for, to become valuable vegetable food plants which can be used as supplements to the cultivated vegetable food plants (umfuno). The question was: How could this concept be brought into the curriculum? It had also been assumed that bringing knowledge of imifino into curriculwn contexts could be of benefit to South African learners. The study produced a variety of findings: • There is a general feeling that those who eat imifino are the poor. • There is a lack of interest among women interviewed in the preparation process, for example going to pick the food plants from the fields, washing them and preparing the leaves as food. • AmaXhosa males look upon eating imifino with contempt. • Some males among the younger generation are beginning to overlook tradition and are eating imifino. • Inclusion of indigenous agricultural knowledge in the curriculum was supported by learners and community members. Learners have interest in knowing about indigenous food plants. • Learners feel as Africans that they must learn about the indigenous food plants in school in order not to lose knowledge of these plants completely. • The study also identified that interpretation of learning outcomes with an indigenous knowledge focus, requires careful attention to socio-cultural factors, and not just technical/ practical factors. Previous knowledge of learners and community members about imifino was mobilized to develop a sample OBE learning programme unit (LPU /Lesson plan) for the Grade 10 FET of Agricultural Science curriculum. The case study illustrates that Learning outcome 3 of the Agricultural Science subject can be achieved if educators involve learners and community members in developing learning programmes.
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Sivaram, Sushil. "Assesment of Bioremediation Efficiency of Indigenous Bacteria and Plants at an Abandoned Acid Mine Drainage Site." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1289882865.
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Cimi, Phumlani Viwe. "An investigation of the indigenous ways of knowing about wild food plants (imifino) : a case study /." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2009. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1582/.
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Khosa, Josephine. "The legal protection of indigenous plants with reference to pterocarpus angolensis in Rolle village, Limpopo Province." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/825.
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De, Vynck Jan Carlo. "Contemporary use and seasonal abundance of indigenous edible plants (with an emphasis on geophytes) available to human foragers on the Cape south coast, South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020044.
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Human subsistence within the Cape Floristic Region (Cape) dates back to our inception as a distinct species. Unique archaeological evidence found here for the defining attribute of cognitive modernity, as well as coinciding paleo-climatic challenges to survival, both highlight the Cape’s potential to support the existence of pre-historic hunter-gatherers. This habitat, with its unprecedented diversity of geophytes and other plant growth forms, has not yet revealed its potential to provide carbohydrate resources for early Homo sapiens sapiens. In order to investigate this potential, an ethnobotanical survey of the south Cape coastal area near Still Bay was conducted. Despite 17th Century colonialism marking the onset of indigenous plant knowledge decline, the 18 people of Khoe-San descent interviewed in this survey still actively used 58 indigenous edible plant species with a variety of 69 uses. Fruit showed the highest popularity of plants used (52 percent) followed by nectar, with plants having underground storage organs (USOs) ranking third (34 percent). Among growth forms, shrubs dominated (34 percent) followed by geophytes and trees (both 21 percent). With the exception of Prionium serratum, which was rare in the research area, this study failed to identify species that could have formed a staple source of carbohydrate for pre-colonial Khoe-San peoples of the Cape south coast. While eight species of USOs were identified (12 percent of total) only Cyphia species emerged as an important carbohydrate source. This study indicated the importance of Thicket Biome species as a source of edible plants. The second component of the study comprised a two year phenological survey of indigenous edible plant species in four primary vegetation types. A total of 32 USO species and 21 species with aboveground edible carbohydrates (fruiting species) were identified across all sites. Limestone Fynbos had the richest flora of edible species (21 USO species and 18 fruiting species), followed by Strandveld (15 USOs and 13 fruiting species), Renosterveld (8 and 8, respectively) and lastly Sand Fynbos (5 and 5, respectively). The season of highest apparency showed slight variation amongst the four sites over the two years, with more variation evident in the period of apparency. The first survey year had below average rainfall, while the second year received an average rainfall amount. The second year saw a dramatic increase in apparency of abundance for all sites (50 to 60 percent increase) except for the Sand Fynbos site, which showed little change. The other sites showed a one month increase in the period of apparency in the second survey year. Overall, late summer to autumn was the period of lowest apparency of USOs. The ripening of certain fruiting species during this time would have provided a source of carbohydrate when USO availability was at its lowest. Strandveld had the highest biomass in the peak of apparency (over 80 kgha-1) in the first year with a nearly 20 percent increase for the second year. The combined biomass for the four study sites in the first survey year was roughly 150 kgha-1 and 185 kgha-1 for the second year. The apparency of abundance (ripe and edible phase) of fruiting species did not increase much for Renosterveld and Strandveld in the second survey year, except for Limestone Fynbos (49 percent increase) and Sand Fynbos (53 percent). A multivariate analysis showed seven phenophases for high apparency of edible USOs and ripe fruit across the four vegetation types. Given the contribution of evergreen USOs and fruiting species, there would always have been carbohydrates available for foragers to collect in the major vegetation types of the south Cape coast. However, harvesting and processing this carbohydrate resource would have posed cognitive challenges for MSA hunter-gatherers, given the interwoven taxonomic complexity of numerous toxic plant species, and the diverse phenology of edible plant species within the varied vegetation types. These challenges were undoubtedly mastered, highlighting the Cape environment as a possible catalyst to improved human cognitive maturity.
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Balfour-Cunningham, Anthony. "The resource value of indigenous plants to rural people in a low agricultural potential area (Volume 1)." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28267.
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This is essentially an ethno-botanical study that explores the borderland between nature conservation, plant use and people. The study area situated at the southern end of the large coastal plain stretching down the east coast of Africa from Somalia to Natal, South Africa. Roughly rectangular in shape, and 1900 km² in extent, it farms a major part of an area known as Maputaland or Tongaland in Natal/KwaZulu. Since this study was initiated, Bruton and Cooper (1980) and Tinley and van Riet ( 1981) have synthesised the available information on Maputaland. This provides an excellent background to the climate, and development of the geology, natural resources, history study area. Mapping of amenities, soils, vegetation, geology, agricultural development and potential has been done on a 1:100 000 scale by Loxton et al, 1969. These data were used as a basis for smaller scale maps by Tinley and van Riet (1981) who also provided detailed descriptive information on climate, soils and ecology of the area. Because of these previous studies, and the fact that the book by Bruton and Cooper (1980) is readily available, descriptive detail has been kept to a minimum.
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Odei-Addo, Frank. "Purification and characterization of serine proteinase inhibitors from two South African indigenous plants, Acacia karoo and Acacia schweinfurthii." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1291.
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Serine proteases are known to perform a wide range of functions essential to life; however there has to be some form of control mechanism in place. One of the many control mechanisms is their specific inhibition by protein proteinase inhibitors. Proteinase inhibitors in plants, present in their seeds, participate in defense mechanisms and their production is induced by herbivory or wounding. Plant proteinase inhibitors have been reported to inhibit a variety of serine proteinases, including enzymes of the blood coagulation cascade. In this study, various indigenous seed extracts were screened for potential serine proteinase inhibition. Acacia schweinfurthii was selected as a potential inhibitor that inhibited trypsin and factor X. The AS inhibitor was successfully purified to homogeneity by precipitating with 80 percent (v/v) acetone and the sequential chromatographic steps including ion-exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, affinity purification on a trypsin-agarose column and RP-HPLC. Reducing SDS-PAGE conditions revealed an inhibitor of two polypeptide chains A and B of approximate molecular weights 16 and 10 kDa, respectively, and under non-reducing conditions, 25 kDa was observed. The inhibitor was shown to inhibit trypsin, chymotrypsin and factor X indicating the dynamic nature of the reactive site. An enzyme: inhibitor ratio of 1:1, and a Ki of 3.45nM was determined for the AS inhibitor on trypsin, and the inhibitor also weakly inhibit chymotrypsin. AS inhibitor and STI inhibited factor X with a Ki values of 13.7nM and 77.5μM respectively. Amino acid analysis revealed Mmin values of the A- and B- chain of 15,000 and 7,800, respectively. The effect of seed extracts on the activated partial thrombin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) was tested. No prolongation of the PT was obtained. For the crude extracts of AK and AS, IC200 values of 4.6 and 189.62 μg/mL, were respectively obtained. For the purified fractions of STI, AS and AK, IC200 values of 51.5, 114.31 and 893.8 μg/ml were observed, respectively. Keywords: proteinase inhibitors, Acacia species, trypsin inhibitor, FX inhibitor.
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Steele, Jonathan Charles Paul. "The pharmacological evaluation of plants used traditionally for the treatment of malaria by indigenous people of South America." Thesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London), 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.312270.
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Yoder, Ray. "Global resource sharing within World Team a study of World Team's relations to churches it plants and nurtures /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1999. http://www.tren.com.
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Nguyen, Phuong Hanh, Dam Cu Luu, and Quoc Binh Nguyen. "A survey of traditional medicinal plants used by K’ho people in the buffer zone of Chu Yang Sin national park, Vietnam." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2015. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-190810.
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This paper shows the results of asurvey on use of traditional medicinal plants of K’ho people who living in the buffer zone of Chu Yang Sin National Park, Central Highlands, Vietnam. Total of 66 medicinal plant species belonging to 61 genera, 40 families were recorded through semi-structured interviews, group discussions and from guides of field trips who are knowledgeable about medicinal plants. These medicinal plants used by K’ho people are documented with latin name, family, local name, parts used and medicinal uses. In generally, fresh medicinal plants are mainly boiled or decocted for drinking and leaves are parts most commonly used. The results of this study showed that K’ho people still depend heavily on medicinal plants to treat diseases such as headache, fever, malaria, diarrhea, fractures, sprains and arthritisBài báo này đề cập kết quả khảo sát cách sử dụng cây thuốc truyền thống của người K’ho sống ở vùng đệm Vườn quốc gia Chư Yang Sin, Việt Nam. Tổng số 66 loài cây thuốc thuộc 61 chi, 40 họ đã được ghi nhận thông qua quá trình phỏng vấn bán cấu trúc, thảo luận nhóm và từ những người dẫn đường đi thu mẫu có am hiểu về cây thuốc. Những cây thuốc truyền thống của dân tộc K’ho được tư liệu hóa gồm tên latin, tên phổ thông, bộ phận sử dụng và cộng dụng. Nhìn chung, dược liệu tươi được dùng đun hoặc sắc để uống là chủ yếu và lá là bộ phận được sử dụng phổ biến nhất. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy cộng đồng K’ho vẫn phụ thuộc vào cây thuốc để chữa trị một số bệnh như đâu đầu, sốt, sốt rét, ỉa chảy, lị, gãy xương, bong gân và thấp khớp
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Lopes, Bárbara Pacheco Carita Simões [UNESP]. "Estudo etnobotânico de plantas medicinais na Terra Indígena Kaxinawá de Nova Olinda, município de Feijó, Acre." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/150997.
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As plantas medicinais constituem um domínio essencial na medicina e saúde indígena. As questões de saúde e doença na medicina indígena implicam conexões entre natureza, cultura, questões físicas e espirituais. Para os Kaxinawá, as doenças não possuem causas únicas, sendo produzidas por um conjunto de forças internas e externas, enquanto os desenvolvimentos físico, mental, emocional e espiritual estão relacionados entre si. Este trabalho busca compreender os elementos presentes na medicina Kaxinawá, apresentando características relacionadas à manipulação das plantas de uso medicinal em processos de saúde e doença. Assim, o objetivo geral desta pesquisa é realizar um levantamento etnobotânico das plantas medicinais utilizadas pelos Kaxinawá e, por meio de seu registro, contribuir para o fortalecimento da resiliência do sistema tradicional de saúde indígena envolvido. Esta pesquisa realiza-se com a participação das cinco comunidades da Terra Indígena Kaxinawá de Nova Olinda (TIKNO), no Alto Rio Envira, município de Feijó - AC, Brasil. A coleta dos dados foi realizada em quatro viagens de campo, por meio da observação participante e de 41 entrevistas semi-estruturadas para o levantamento das informações socioculturais dos/as participantes, e das plantas medicinais com a técnica da lista livre. A análise de dados foi quali-quantitativa. Foram utilizados parâmetros da etnobotânica quantitativa e a criação de categorias analíticas de agrupamento em função dos usos das plantas medicinais listadas. A alimentação está intimamente relacionada à saúde e foi percebida uma forte relação entre os usos das plantas e as figuras de animais que perfazem a caça consumida. As características dos alimentos e contextos individuais ou sociais podem determinar sintomas ou doenças e relacionam-se ao diagnóstico e à escolha do remédio utilizado. A partir de um primeiro olhar sobre os usos etnobotânicos das plantas medicinais na TIKNO, sua riqueza e abrangência, é possível perceber o reflexo da apropriação sociocultural da biodiversidade local e da cosmovisão Kaxinawá no entendimento de saúde e doença. As práticas para manutenção da saúde enfatizam a importância das plantas medicinais e do conhecimento tradicional dos Kaxinawá, o que também evidencia a relevância de seu registro.
Medicinal plants are a fundamental domain in Indigenous Medicine and health. Health and sickness matters in the Indigenous Medicine imply in connections among Nature, Culture, physical and spiritual subjects. For the Kaxinawá, diseases are not related to a single root, but are originated in a series of internal and external forces, as the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual developments are linked. The present study envoys to comprehend the elements present in the Kaxinawá Medicine, presenting characteristics related to the medicinal plants in health and sickness processes. Therefore, the objective of this study is to attain a ethnobotanical data collection regarding medicinal plants employed by the Kaxinawá and, through such record, to contribute to the strengthening of the related traditional indigenous health system resilience. This research was accomplished through the involvement of four communities from the Terra Indígena Kaxinauá de Nova Olinda (TIKNO), in the Alto Rio Envira, in the city of Feijó – AC, Brazil. Data collection was done through participating observation and 41 semi-structured interviews for the listing of sociocultural information of the participants, and for the medicinal plants the free listing technic was employed. Data analysis was quali-quantitative. Quantitative Ethnobotany parameters and the analytical categorization of grouping regarding employ functions of the listed medicinal plants were applied. Medicinal plants, for the Kaxinauá, are the equivalent for “Medicine”. Eating is intimately related to health and a strong relation between plant usage and animal models that represent the consumed game animal was noticed. Food characteristics and individual or social contexts can determine symptoms or diseases and are related to the diagnosis and medicine choice. From a first glance on the ethnobotanic usage of medicinal plants in the TIKNO, their richness and coverage, the repercussion of the local biodiversity sociocultural appropriation and the Kaxinauá worldview on health and disease can be perceived. The practices for health maintenance stress the medicinal plants and the Kaxinawá traditional knowledge importance, as well as the relevance of such record.
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Ngobeni, Alister. "Isolation and characterization of bio-active compounds from euphorbia inaequilatera and dicerocaryum senecioides." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1057.
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Thesis (M.Sc. (Biochemistry)) --University of Limpopo, 2013This study was carried out to investigate antioxidant and antibacterial properties of 9 indigenous medicinal plants, viz., Euclea undulata (mogweregwere), Momordica balsamia (mogapu badimo), sefapa badimo, Senecio asperulus (makgonatšohle), Stiburus alopecuroides (mošalašuping), serolana, Euphorbia inaequilatera (kgama-maswana), mokgagapitsi and Clerodendrum glabrum (mohlokohloko) and to further isolate compounds that relate to these properties. Four extracting solvents with varying polarities viz. n-hexane, dichloromethane, acetone and methanol were used to extract the bioactive compounds from the ground powdered plant materials. The TLC plates, developed in three solvent systems viz., benzene, ethanol and ammonia (BEA, 18:10:0.2, v/v/v); ethyl acetate, methanol and water (EMW, 10:1.35:1, v/v/v) and chloroform, ethyl acetate and formic acid (CEF, 10:8:2, v/v/v), were visualised using DPPH, vanillin-sulphuric acid, visible light at 366 nm, UV light at 254 nm and bioautography for the presence of potential antioxidant and antibacterial compounds. The results of the screening process showed that only four plants possessed antioxidant compound(s) while six plants had antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Euclea undulata “MKK” was observed to possess both antibacterial and antioxidant active compounds. Two antioxidant active compounds were isolated from two plants, viz., Euphorbia inaequilatera and Dicerocaryum senecioides. Solvent-solvent extraction, column chromatography and preparative TLC were used to further isolate and characterise target compounds. The antioxidant active compounds were found to separate well under EMW, an indication that the compounds are polar and intermediate-polar. The NMR spectra of the compound isolated from the D. senecioides revealed that the compound is a stilbenoid. For the first time, we report that the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiproliferation properties of the D. senecioides reported by other studies performed in this laboratory could be due to this isolated stilbenoid compound. However, further studies are still necessary to confirm this assertion.
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Wickens, Kristen M. "A search for biologically active compounds in Acacia (Mimosaceae) species." Curtin University of Technology, Department of Environmental Biology, 2003. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=15212.
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Indigenous Australians were also known to use plants for medicinal purposes. For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have used native plants as a source of medicinal agents. Some tribes living in Central Australia still, to this day, prefer to use traditional medicines in favour of the more common and readily available western medicines. A number of plant species endemic to Australia are listed in various Aboriginal pharmacopoeias, with approximately one-third of those species belonging to two genera, Acacia and Eremophila. Of the 1100 recognised species of Acacia, approximately 900 occur in Australia. At least thirty of these species were utilised by the Indigenous Australians as a source of medicine. Extracts of 8 Acacia species were screened using four frontline bioassays. These were the brine shrimp lethality test, the crown gall tumour assays, the disc diffusion antibiotic assay and the seed germination test to determine if any of the species were biologically active. Of all the species screened, Acacia pruinocarpa showed the most promise. The species demonstrated significant activity at concentrations at low as 3.7ppm, which is well below the standard 400ppm exhibited by potassium dichromate (Sam, 1993). Acacia adsurgens and A. dictophleba were the next two promising species exhibiting activity at concentrations of 16.12ppm and 37ppm respectively. This was a trend that was also observed in the Lettuce seed germination test for allelopathy with these three species showing the most promise. Interestingly the potency of A. pruinocarpa extract decreased significantly when it was re- screened after being put through a polyamide column. It can therefore be suggested that as tannins are removed by the polyamide column, the biological activity exhibited by A. pruinocarpa is a result of the tannin content in the species (2%), although more testing is required.Both A. pruinocarpa and A. adsurgens showed promise as anti-tumour activity when used in the Crown Gall Tumour Assay (CGTA). Acacia pruinocarpa and A. adsurgens both exhibited significant activity when compared to the control producing inhibition percentages of 31% and 37% respectively. Surprisingly, only one of the Acacia species tested inhibited pathogenic growth when tested on the common pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogens and Candida albicans. Acacia bivenosa was the only species to exhibit any activity when tested on the pathogens. This activity, however is not considered to be significant, as the species was only active against one of pathogens tested, Staphylococcus aureus. In order to be considered to be significant, a species must be active against two or more pathogens. It is however, worthy of further evaluation. Acacia species are among the large number of plants that have long been regarded sources of biological activity. This study was guided by the indigenous use of Acacia species as sources of medicine, which led to the use of front-line bioassays. All of the species tested exhibited some form of biological activity. Acacia pruinocarpa demonstrated the most promise as a source of novel biologically active compounds exhibiting activity at very low concentrations. Such compounds have not been determined as it was outside the scope of this study to identify the active constituents of this species. However, it has been suggested that tannins are responsible for eliciting some of the activity observed in A. pruinocarpa. All of the species screened in this study are worthy of further evaluation. The bioassays used in this study are good examples of front-line bioassays. All of the tests used in the study fulfil the criterion, which defines a good test.
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Gatehouse, Hazel A. W. "Ecology of the naturalisation and geographic distribution of the non-indigenous seed plant species of New Zealand." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1009.
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The naturalisation and subsequent spread of non-indigenous plant species (NIPS) is a major problem for most regions of the world. Managing plant invasions requires greater understanding of factors that determine initial naturalisation and distribution of wild NIPS. By the year 2000, 2252 NIPS were recorded as wild (1773 fully naturalised and 479 casual) in New Zealand. From published literature and electronic herbaria records, I recorded year of discovery of wild populations, and regional distribution of these wild NIPS. I also recorded species related attributes hypothesised to affect naturalisation and/or distribution, including global trade, human activities, native range and biological data; and regional attributes hypothesised to affect distribution, including human population densities, land use/cover, and environmental data. I used interval-censored time-to-event analyses to estimate year of naturalisation from discovery records, then analysed the importance of historical, human activity, biogeographical and biological attributes in determining patterns of naturalisation. Typically, NIPS that naturalised earlier were herbaceous, utilitarian species that were also accidentally introduced and/or distributed, with a wide native range that included Eurasia, naturalised elsewhere, with a native congener in New Zealand. In the year 2000, 28% of wild NIPS occupied only one region, 18% occupied two regions, decreasing incrementally to 2.5 % for nine regions, but with 13.5% occupying all ten regions. I used generalised linear models (GLMs) with binomial distribution to determine predictors of whether a wild NIPS occupied ten regions or not, and GLMs with Poisson distribution for wild NIPS occupying 0 – 9 regions. As expected, the dominant effect was that species discovered earlier occupied more regions. Utilitarian wild NIPS that were also accidentally introduced and/or distributed, and wild NIPS with a native congener tended to be more widely distributed, but results for other attributes varied between datasets. Although numbers of wild NIPS recorded in regions of New Zealand were sometimes similar, composition of wild NIPS was often very different. I used nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to determine dissimilarity in composition between regions. Then, after reducing correlation between predictor variables using principal components analyses (PCAs), I tested the importance of regional variables in determining the regional composition of wild NIPS using metaMDS. The density of human populations best explained the dissimilarity in composition, but temperature gradients and water availability gradients were also important. In the year 2000 more than 1100 (60%) of the 1773 fully naturalised NIPS in mainland New Zealand had each been recorded in Northland/Auckland and Canterbury, and at the other end of the scale, Southland and Westland each had fewer than 500 (30%). I used GLMs to analyse the importance of people and environment in determining the numbers of wild NIPS in each region. Because I conducted multiple tests on the same dataset I used sequential Bonferroni procedures to adjust the critical P-value. Only human population density was important in explaining the numbers of NIPS in the regions. Overall, humans were the dominant drivers in determining the patterns of naturalisation and spread, although environment helps determine the composition of NIPS in regions. Incorporating human associated factors into studies of wild NIPS helps improve the understanding of the stages in the naturalisation and spread process.
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Shah, Monali. "Biogenic production of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles using extracts from indigenous Australian plants: Their synthesis, optimisation, characterisation and antibacterial activities." Thesis, Shah, Monali (2016) Biogenic production of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles using extracts from indigenous Australian plants: Their synthesis, optimisation, characterisation and antibacterial activities. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2016. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/35062/.
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Today, the primary focus of nanotechnology is the creation of nanometre scale materials, techniques and applications. The main driver for this intense nanotechnologybased research is the unique material properties that occur at the nanometre scale which are significantly different to those at the bulk scale. Importantly, because of their size nanoparticles can act as bridge between bulk materials and molecular structures. Therefore, an important aspect of nanotechnology is the synthesis of nanoparticles of different compositions and the ability to directly control particle parameters such as size, shape and size distribution. Since the material composition and related material parameters will ultimately determine the overall properties of the nanoparticles. Furthermore, there is also a need to develop reliable, sustainable and eco-friendly protocols for manufacturing nanoparticles. In recent years there has been a convergence between biological based technologies, green chemistry and nanotechnology. This convergence has the potential to produce clean technologies that can significantly reduce environmental and human health risks resulting from toxic chemicals and solvents generally used in conventional nanoparticle manufacturing processes. The biogenic synthesis of nanoparticles via plant extracts has the potential to significantly reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances.
Worldwide, alternative eco-friendly green chemistry based techniques for biosynthesising metal nanoparticles using various plant species has been actively investigated in recent years. However, finding suitable plant species and developing effective protocols to biosynthesis metal nanoparticles with predetermined physiochemical properties still remains a challenge. Taking up the challenge, this thesis for the first time examines the biogenic properties of three indigenous Australian plant species to produce (Au) gold and (Ag) silver nanoparticles. Plant species studied were Eucalyptus macrocarpa (rose of the west), Xanthorrhoea glauca (grass tree) and Anigozanthos manglesii (red and green kangaroo paw). The thesis is composed of five case studies that deal with the discovery, biosynthesis optimisation & particle characterisation, and identification of Ag nanoparticle/plant antimicrobial properties. The studies reveal all three plant species were effective bio-factories capable of manufacturing of Ag and Au nanoparticles. Subsequent antimicrobial studies using Ag nanoparticles biosynthesised using Xanthorrhoea glauca and Anigozanthos manglesii were found to be effective agents against bacterial pathogens such as Deinococcus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus Epidermis. The research for the first time has demonstrated that three indigenous Australian plant species are capable of producing nanoparticles with unique physiochemical properties and the nanoparticles have the potential to be used in antibacterial pharmaceuticals.
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Itholeng, Kebalepile Benedict Itholeng. "The indigenous knowledge of the local community towards weeds and alien invasive plants in the Dinokana area, North-West Province, South Africa / by Kebalepile Benedict Itholeng." Thesis, North-West University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/2129.
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Tessendorf, Sharon Erica. "Estimating the willingness-to-pay for restoring indigenous vegetation at selected sites in South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/617.
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The Working for Water (WfW) Programme is a public works programme designed to clear South Africa of invasive alien vegetation and to restore lowwater consuming indigenous vegetation in the areas that have been cleared. Funds to clear alien invasives were initially secured on the basis that such a programme would increase water runoff, facilitate biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and provide social benefits through job creation. The economic merits of the Programme, in terms of increased water yields, has been established in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, but questioned in the Eastern and Southern Cape. However, there are economic aspects of the studies carried out in the Eastern and Southern Cape that merit more attention than was given them; one of these being the issue of non-water benefits. Preliminary figures emanating from contingent valuation pilot studies conducted at six WfW projects sites indicated that one of these non-water benefits, namely the biodiversity and ecosystem resilience benefit, could be substantial. As such, the primary objective of the present study was to apply the contingent valuation method (CVM) to value people’s preference for indigenous vegetation. This value was intended to serve as a proxy for increased biodiversity and ecosystem resilience at three WfW sites. Despite the controversy surrounding the CVM, it has been found that it is a credible valuation tool. The CVM’s merits lie in its versatility and in the fact that it is the only method available which is capable of obtaining estimates of both nonuse and use values, thus making it applicable for valuing biodiversity. The primary aim of a CVM study is to determine an estimate of the total willingness-to-pay (WTP). In this study, the total WTP figure was calculated by multiplying the median WTP for the local WfW Programme by the total number of user households. The respective total WTP amounts are shown in Table 1. It was anticipated that respondents would be willing to pay more for the national WfW Programme, than for the less inclusive good (i.e. the local WfW Programme). The results correspond with this expectation at the Port Elizabeth and Underberg sites. However, due to strategic factors Worcester respondents were willing to pay more for the local WfW Programme than for the national Programme.
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Kimbugwe, Francis Kambugu. "An investigation of factors which influence integrating indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants into the learning programme for Grade 9 General Science." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003506.
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This study explores knowledge of some medicinal plants amongst the sub-urban community of and around a township in the Eastern Cape province. This qualitative interpretivist case study presents the prior knowledge of medicinal plants possessed by Grade 9 learners, which is used as a springboard toward interviewing traditional healers, herbal practitioners and lecturers at a university in the departments of Botany and Pharmacy. The data obtained from the informants reveals the factors that can influence integration of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants in the learning programme for grade 9 General Science. These factors include: prior knowledge and enthusiasm of Grade 9 learners and teachers, support of the community which include parents, traditional healers, herbal practitioners and professionals who could introduce indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants into formal education, availability of resource materials and complexity of identifying pharmacologically tested plants from other indigenous medicinal plants. The analysis and discussion of the findings, have led me to conclude that the enthusiasm of learners who have a rich background of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants is likely to be hampered by the unenthusiastic teachers as well as the reluctance of herbal practitioners in their communities to part with this knowledge. Hence I recommend that teachers be motivated through workshops and in-service training, conducted by goverr\ment paid herbal practitioners using the prior knowledge of learners as a stepping-stone.
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Nguyen, Phuong Hanh, Dam Cu Luu, and Quoc Binh Nguyen. "A survey of traditional medicinal plants used by K’ho people in the buffer zone of Chu Yang Sin national park, Vietnam: Research article." Technische Universität Dresden, 2014. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A29111.
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This paper shows the results of asurvey on use of traditional medicinal plants of K’ho people who living in the buffer zone of Chu Yang Sin National Park, Central Highlands, Vietnam. Total of 66 medicinal plant species belonging to 61 genera, 40 families were recorded through semi-structured interviews, group discussions and from guides of field trips who are knowledgeable about medicinal plants. These medicinal plants used by K’ho people are documented with latin name, family, local name, parts used and medicinal uses. In generally, fresh medicinal plants are mainly boiled or decocted for drinking and leaves are parts most commonly used. The results of this study showed that K’ho people still depend heavily on medicinal plants to treat diseases such as headache, fever, malaria, diarrhea, fractures, sprains and arthritis.Bài báo này đề cập kết quả khảo sát cách sử dụng cây thuốc truyền thống của người K’ho sống ở vùng đệm Vườn quốc gia Chư Yang Sin, Việt Nam. Tổng số 66 loài cây thuốc thuộc 61 chi, 40 họ đã được ghi nhận thông qua quá trình phỏng vấn bán cấu trúc, thảo luận nhóm và từ những người dẫn đường đi thu mẫu có am hiểu về cây thuốc. Những cây thuốc truyền thống của dân tộc K’ho được tư liệu hóa gồm tên latin, tên phổ thông, bộ phận sử dụng và cộng dụng. Nhìn chung, dược liệu tươi được dùng đun hoặc sắc để uống là chủ yếu và lá là bộ phận được sử dụng phổ biến nhất. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy cộng đồng K’ho vẫn phụ thuộc vào cây thuốc để chữa trị một số bệnh như đâu đầu, sốt, sốt rét, ỉa chảy, lị, gãy xương, bong gân và thấp khớp.
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Tamuli, Roktima. "Chemical Investigation of Clerodendrum polycephalum for Anti-Malarial Compounds and its Chemical Diversity with Australian Clerodendrum." Thesis, Griffith University, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/414921.
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The use of indigenous plants by native healers has been in healthcare system for a long time. It is prevalent in many developing countries because of its wide benefits and rising popularity. But less is known about the chemistry behind the medicinal properties of those indigenous plants. Unraveling the knowledge helps develop drugs based on the indigenous plants and understand their mechanisms of the action. Malaria happens to be a vector borne protozoan parasitic disease which has been reported to affect 229 million people in 2019. Use of indigenous plant for treating malaria is widely practiced and this had led to the development of two anti-malarial drugs, artemisinin, and quinine. Clerodendrum polycephalum, also known as ‘egungun eja’ or ‘ewe agbosa’ or ‘aporo’ by different tribes of Nigeria, is used by native healers as an anti-malarial treatment. However, the anti-malarial effect is not well studied and the chemical compounds responsible for its activity is unknown. The understanding of the chemical composition and their antimalarial activities will provide scientific evidence for its traditional application in malaria treatment. This project was a collaborative research between A/Prof Yunjiang Feng at Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery and Prof. Francis B. Adewoyin at Drug Research and Production Unit, Obafemi Awolowo University, and Prof. Alexander B. Odaibo at Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan; mediated by BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH). The Nigerian group analysed the crude extract of Clerodendrum polycephalum based on its traditional use; but lack of expertise in natural product chemistry led to this collaboration. The overall objective was to use bioassay as a guide to isolate antimalarial natural products against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 drug resistant cell lines. Any novel/new compounds will also be targeted by using 1H NMR guided isolation strategy. Knowing the wide distribution of Clerodendrum around the world, several Australian Clerodendrum sp. were investigated by LC-MS to understand the chemical compositions of samples from different geographic locations. The thesis was started with an introduction chapter which included different concepts such as traditional medicine, malaria, Clerodendrum, bioassay guided fractionation, NMR guided isolation and a brief outline of the project. Traditional medicine (TM) was introduced with a detailed description on African traditional medicine (ATM). It then proceeded with a brief discussion on malaria, its causes, and the current treatment. The chapter then provided a detailed description of genus Clerodendrum, its geographical distribution, traditional use and the biological activity of the plant extract and secondary metabolites. The chapter continued with a brief of bioassay guided fractionation. Finally, the chapter ended with a description of NMR guided isolation of compounds with biological activity. Chapter 2 described detailed experimental procedures involved in this project, including isolation and purification of natural products from the plant species. The chapter also detailed the biological assays as well as the spectroscopic data of the pure compounds. Chapter 3 started with an introduction of Clerodendrum polycephalum, then moved on to the bioassay guided isolation which resulted in four pure compounds, including the new clerodane diterpene lactone A. Considering the difficulties in the isolation process due to the presence of large amount of methyl pheophorbide a, the next batch of crude extract was purified using a revised strategy where the fractionation procedure was modified and 1H NMR was utilized to guide the isolation. This resulted in ten compounds, including four new clerodane diterpene lactone (A-D), one new 12,16-Epoxy-11,14,17-trihydroxy-17(15→16)-abeo- 5,8,11,13,15-abietapentaen-7-one, as well as 5 known compounds, namely, acacetin, methyl pheophorbide a, loliolide, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and 12,16-Epoxy-6,11,14,17- tetrahydroxy-17(15→16)-abeo-5,8,11,13,15-abietapentaen-7-one. The chemical structures were elucidated by comprehensive analysis of 1D-, 2D-NMR and MS spectroscopic data assisted by density functional theory (DFT) calculated NMR and circular dichroism (CD). The in-vitro activity evaluation against P. falciparum 3D7 revealed that methyl pheophorbide a was active with IC50 values of 4.49 M. The compound showed no cytotoxicity against neonatal foreskin fibroblast (NFF) mammalian cells. Our results provided scientific evidence for the traditional use of Clerodendrum polycephalum in malarial treatment. Chapter 4 aims to investigate whether Clerodendrum sp. collected from different geographic location contain similar chemistry. The chapter started with an introduction of Australian Clerodendrum sp., Griffith University’s NatureBank and the use of LC-MS for screening compounds in plant extracts. Fifteen Australian Clerodendrum were extracted and analyzed by LC-MS. Our results suggested that every compound isolated from Clerodendrum polycephalum was detected in the Australian species. Large scale isolation of Nature Bank sample NB020858 yielded verbascoside, diosmetin-5-o-glucuronide, 4-hydroxywogonin-5-oglucuronide and acacetin-5-o-8-hydroxyglucuronide; among these four compounds verbascoside and an analogue of acacetin-5-o-8-hydroxyglucuronide were also detected in the Nigerian plant extract. Based on the results, we conclude that Clerodendrum plant species from Nigeria and Australia contained same classes of compounds, and chemistry can be used as a tool for plant taxonomic identification.Thesis (Masters)
Master of Science (MSc)
School of Environment and Sc
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
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Dalle, Sarah Paule. "The spatial distribution of traditional plant resources on an indigenous territory (Darien, Panama) and implications for management /." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=33389.
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Ecological research aimed at the conservation of useful plants has rarely considered the spatial distribution of resources nor the potential implications for management. In this thesis I examined the spatial patterning of a group of 23 useful plant species on the 3,500 ha territory of a Kuna community in Darien, Panama. A systematic random sampling scheme was used to survey the distribution and abundance of the species, as well as the physical environment. A series of canonical analyses was conducted to evaluate the species-environment relationships and to identify spatial structures in the species distributions left unexplained by the environmental variables. Four distinct distribution patterns were identified among the species; these were most strongly explained by land-use, the degree of canopy closure and topography. Significant spatial structures, independent of the environmental variables, were related to anthropogenic pressures and an edaphic gradient. The habitat associations of the individual species are described and data on one species, Sabal mauritiiformis , is used to illustrate the utility of these data in the management of plant resources on human landscapes.
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McCune, Letitia M. "Antioxidants in Canadian boreal forest : indigenous medicinal plant treatments in relation to non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus." Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36654.
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Medicinal plants, as part of traditional ingestion practices, may contain antioxidants to combat the oxidative stress which is implicated in prediabetes as well as many of the complications of diabetes, As Indigenous Peoples move further from their traditional lifestyles, and therefore their use of medicinal plants, incidence of diabetes has increased dramatically, Those medicinal plants of the boreal forest that have been used for 3 or more symptoms of diabetes or its complications were selected for analysis. Three different assays (DPPH, NBT/xanthine oxidase and DCF/APPH) determined the antioxidant activity of 35 medicinal plant species. The majority of the species (89%) had free radical scavenging activity significantly greater than the market produce tested (Tukey, P < 0.05), 63% had superoxide scavenging activities similar to vitamin C, and eight species had free radical scavenging activity similar to green tea. Considering that many of these species are also used for food or beverage they represent an antioxidant benefit to the traditional lifestyle. Among the parts used medicinally, roots and barks were used the most frequently with activity in the order of fruit > bark > leaves > roots. The perennials selected had activity in rank trees > shrubs > herbs and the activity associated with habitat found rocky areas > woodland > wet/boggy habitats. Species used for symptoms such as diarrhea, rheumatism, tonic and heart/chest pain were typically high in antioxidant activity. Using cluster analysis it was determined that species used for diarrhea and heart disease as well as those used for a combination of tonic, sores, urinary, blood, pregnancy and boils could also be species with high antioxidant activity. The greater the number of symptoms a species was used for, the greater the activity. Three species with high antioxidant activities, Rhus hirta, Cornus stolonifera and Solidago canadensis, inhibited TNF production in human macrophage cells suggesting a po
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Williams, Saralene Iona. "Chang liver cell line as a model for Type II Diabetes in the liver and possible reversal of this condition by an indigenous medicinal plant." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016179.
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The incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellittus (T2DM) is increasing world wide. In Africa the limited access to health care and the insidious course of the disease lead to more severe illness and diabetic complications. There is a need to find alternative approaches to treatment and prevention that address the problems and needs of Africa. Sutherlandia frutescens (S.frutescens) is a traditional herbal plant with known anti-diabetic properties, the precise mechanism of action of S.frutescens is not known. In order to develop new approaches for treatment and prevention of T2DM the pathophysiology of T2DM must be understood. T2DM is the final outcome of a multi-organ disease characterized by early defects in muscle, adipocytes, hepatocytes and pancreatic β-cells. In this study the role of the liver was investigated because of its central role in glucose and lipid metabolism. It is hard to differentiate between all the influences in an in vivo model, so the aim of this study was to develop an in vitro model of T2DM in Chang liver cells and to determine if S.frutescens can reverse the state of insulin resistance in this model. Different culture media conditions were screened to identify a method that can be used as the T2DM model in Chang liver cells. Serum free medium (MCBD-201) supplemented with human diabetic serum, (2.5%-10%), high insulin concentrations (0.1μM-1μM), high fructose concentrations (1-10mM). and a combination of high insulin and high fructose was used for this screening. Chang liver cells cultured in MCBD-201 medium supplemented with 1mM fructose and 0.1μM insulin showed reduced glucose uptake and increased lipid accumulation. The effect of two S.frutescens extracts, two anti-diabetic drugs, metformin and ciglitazone, and a hypolipidemic drug ciprofibrate were determined and shown to increase glucose uptake and reduce lipid accumulation. It was postulated that exposing the cells to excess nutrients in the form of high fructose would stimulate the cells to become adipogenic and accumulate lipids, which would interfere with the glucose uptake and induce insulin resistance. Gene expression of PPARγ, PPARα, and SREBP-1 transcription factors regulating lipid metabolism was determined in Chang liver cells cultured in insulin resistance inducing medium over a 48 hour time course. The expression of PPARγ, known to stimulate adipogenesis was increased after 6, 24 and 48 hours of exposure (P(H1)<0.0001). The expression of PPARα, known to stimulate β-oxidation expression, was significantly decreased after 24 hours of exposure (P(H1)<0.0001). The presence of the plant extracts in the insulin resistance inducing media protect against this increase in adipogenesis and decrease in β-oxidation after 48 hours of exposure by increasing PPARα expression and decreasing PPARγ expression. A PCR Array was performed which identified 32 more potential molecular targets of S.frutescens. Five of the 32 targets identified with the PCR Array were validated using qRT-PCR. These genes play a role in lipid and glucose metabolism and protection against oxidative stress and inflammation. In summary a cellular model of insulin resistace in hepatocytes has been established and the capacity of S.frutescens to reverse this process has been demonstrated by acting as a dual PPARγ/α agonist. New genes have been identified in the development of insulin resistance and as targets of S.frutescens.
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Corsello, Rachel. "Increasing Germination Rates and Population Growth of Native Plant Gardens on College Campuses." Wittenberg University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wuhonors161787669427921.
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MARANGONI, Carmen. "Plantas medicinais tradicionalmente utilizadas no Nordeste do Brasil: potencial antimicrobiano para tratar distúrbios das vias gênito-urinárias." Universidade Federal de Perrnambuco, 2015. https://repositorio.ufpe.br/handle/123456789/16910.
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As infecções das vias gênito-urinárias são uma realidade muito difundida mundialmente. São causadas por bactérias, fungos e protozoários que colonizam os tecidos urogenitais. Existem muitos produtos naturais à base de plantas que demostraram ter eficácia no tratamento desses distúrbios. No Brasil, em muitas regiões, o emprego das plantas medicinais é prática comum. Estudos etnobotânicos realizados no Nordeste do Brasil com populações tradicionais, incluindo tribos indígenas, indicam que muitas plantas são utilizadas para tratar distúrbios das vias gênito-urinárias. Para melhor entender as práticas de cura tradicionais e corroborar as suas eficácia, neste estudo avaliou-se o potencial antimicrobiano in vitro de uma seleção de plantas medicinais tradicionalmente utilizadas para tratar esses tipo de transtorno por duas populações indígenas, os Pankararu e os Fulni-ô, que habitam a região semiárida do Nordeste do Brasil. As plantas foram coletadas no final da estação chuvosa na comunidade rural de Riachão de Malhada de Pedra, município de Caruaru. Extratos aquosos e hidroalcoólicos foram preparados com a parte da planta tradicionalmente utilizada e a avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana foi realizada com a técnica da microdiluição, testando os extratos frente microrganismos capazes de colonizar o aparelho urogenital (Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, S. saprophyticus). A avaliação da atividade anti- Trichomonas vaginalis foi realizada através do teste da viabilidade dos trofozooides. Foi realizado o perfil fitoquímico e avaliada a atividade antioxidante dos extratos obtidos da forma tradicional. Foi também testada a correlação entre atividade antimicrobiana e uso tradicional, reportado como índice de Importância Relativa de Uso. Os resultados mostraram que os microrganismos mais susceptíveis foram os dois pertencentes ao gênero Staphylococcus, sendo os extratos aquoso e hidroalcoólico de Maytenus rigida e Spondias tuberosa os mais ativos (MIC = 0.2 mg/mL). As plantas cujos extratos da casca demonstraram maior espectro de ação foram Anacardium occidentale, Myracrodruon urundeuva e S. tuberosa. A maioria dos extratos testados mostrou atividade frente ao protozoário T. vaginalis. Os extratos de Sideroxylon obtusifolium mostraram uma toxicidade contra ao parasita comparável à do metrodinazol. O teor de taninos encontrado nos extratos mostrou ter uma correlação significativa com a atividade antimicrobiana, indicando um papel dessa classe de compostos na atividade aqui registrada. Encontrou-se também uma correlação significativa entre a atividade antimicrobiana e o uso tradicional. As espécies que apresentam maior atividade antioxidante foram Anadenanthera colubrina, M. urundeuva, S. tuberosa que coincidiram com as espécies que apresentaram os maiores teor de fenóis totais. O teor de flavonoides não parece estar correlato com a atividade antioxidante. Os resultados aqui apresentados apontam que as espécies A. occidentale, M. urundeuva e S. tuberosa produzem substâncias ativas frente a todos os microrganismos testados, justificando o uso tradicional. Essas três espécies, juntas com M. rigida e S. obtusifolium mostraram atividades promissora para o desenvolvimento de novos tratamentos contra T. vaginalis.
The urogenital infections are a common reality worldwide, caused by bacteria, yeasts and protozoans which are able to colonize the urogenital tissues. Several plant-based products demonstrated efficacy in treating this kind of disturbs. Ethnopharmacological surveys realized with traditional populations, including indigenous ones, in the Northeastern semiarid region of Brazil, showed that several plant species are utilized to treat urinary and genital tracts infections. To better understand the traditional medicine practices and corroborate their efficacy, in this study the antimicrobial potential of eight medicinal plants used to treat urogenital infections by two indigenous tribes, Pankararu e Fulni-ô, located in the Northeastern Brazil, was tested in vitro. The plant material was collected at the end of the rain season in the rural community Riachão de Malhada de Pedra, Caruaru district, in the agreste of the Pernambuco state. Aqueous and hidroalcoholic extracts were obtained using the part of the plant traditionally used. The antimicrobial assay was performed with the microdiluition method against human pathogens able to colonize the urogenital system (Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, S. saprophyticus). The anti-Trichomonas vaginalis activity was evaluate testing the viability of the trophozoites. The phytochemical profile of the extracts was realized and the antioxidant activity was measured too. Furthermore the correlation between the antimicrobial activity and the traditional use, using the Relative Use Importance index, was tested. The results showed that the most susceptive of the tested microorganism were the two Staphylococcus species, being the aqueous and hidoalcoholic extracts of Maytenus rigida and Spondias tuberosa the most active ones (MIC = 0,2 mg/mL). Anacardium occidentale, Myracrodruon urundeuva and S. tuberosa bark extracts were found to have the broadest spectrum of activity. The majority of the extracts showed an anti-T. vaginalis activity. Sideroxylon obtusifolium extracts showed the higher activity toward the parasite, comparable with metrodinazol one. A positive correlation was encountered between the quantity of tannins and the antimicrobial activity, this indicates the role of this class of compounds in the activity here reported. A significant correlation was also found between the antimicrobial activity and the traditional use. The species presenting the higher antioxidant activities were Anadenanthera colubrina, M. urundeuva, S. tuberosa, which are the species with the higher total phenols content. No correlation between flavonoids content and antioxidant activity was found. The results of this study indicate that A. occidentale, M. urundeuva e S. tuberosa synthetize substances which act towards all the tested microorganism, justifing the traditional use of these medicinal plants. These three species, along with M. rigida and S. tuberosa showed a strong anti-T. vaginalis activity, which is promising for the development of new treatments for this protozoan infections.
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Shauli, Mathulo Mathabiso. "Histopathology induced by a medicinal plant indigenous to South Africa that has shown in vitro anti-microbial activity against drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3990.
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Tuberculosis (TB) still remains a health problem globally with over a million new infections and a mortality rate of 1.5 million individuals annually (Hawn et al., 2014). The emerging multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains that accompany human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection in high-incidence populations contribute significantly to the health burden of TB (Areeshi et al., 2014). The standard treatment that is advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for active tuberculosis includes long-term therapy that incorporates the use of isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinimide and ethambutol as front line drugs (WHO, 2013). Drug resistance against established treatment options for TB makes research into new forms of therapy an imperative in health care (Ntulela et al., 2009). South Africa is currently witnessing a high number of cases of drug-resistant TB. In some parts of the country, one in ten cases of TB is resistant to treatment. It is therefore essential to have new anti-tuberculosis agents, which can be readily and simply produced from some local source (Warner et al., 2014). A logical starting point for this research of new agents would be the herbal medicines which have been used for centuries in rural areas by local healers. Western developed countries have harvested ethno botanical knowledge and have produced drug therapies for conventional medicines for other ailments. The activity of extracts of the active plants and their properties still require study in animal models in order to assess their future as new anti-tuberculosis agents (Lall and Meyer, 1999). This study focuses on qualitative and quantitative experimental findings after the administration of a medicinal plant extract to animals. This will include daily observation of animals, recording of feed consumption, recording of animal weights, macroscopic examination of animals at necropsy, tissue harvesting, histological procedures and microscopy.
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Aiyegoro, Olayinka Ayobami. "Synergistic potententials and isolation of bioactive compounds from the extracts of two helichrysum species indigenous to the Eastern Cape province." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/250.
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Helichrysum longifolium and H. pedunculatum belong to the Astereceae family and are used extensively in folkloric medicine in South Africa to manage stress-related ailments and as dressings for wounds normally encountered in circumcision rites, bruises, cuts and sores. The in vitro antibacterial time-kill studies, the synergistic potentials, the phytochemical screenings and antioxidant potentials as well as the isolation of the bioactive compounds from the extracts of these two plants were carried out in this study. The in vitro antibacterial activities and time kill regimes of crude extracts of H. pedunculatum was assessed. The extracts was active against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria tested at a concentration of 10 mg/ml. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values for all the susceptible bacteria ranged between 0.1 – 35 mg/ml. The average log reduction in viable cell count in time kill assay ranged between 0.17 Log10 to 6.37 Log10 cfu/ml after 6 h of interaction, and between 0.14 Log10 and 6.99 Log10 cfu/ml after 12 h interaction in 1 × MIC and 2 × MIC of the extract. The effect of the aqueous extract was only bacteriostatic on both reference and environmental strains and the clinical isolates were outrightly resistant to aqueous extract. This is worrisome and this could be one reason why, there is an incidence of high death rate resulting from circumcision wounds infection even after treating such wounds with H. pedunculatum leaf. In vitro antibacterial time kill studies of extracts of H. longifolium was assessed. All test bacteria were susceptible to the methanol extract, while none was susceptible to the aqueous extract. Two of the test bacteria were susceptible to the ethyl acetate extract, while ten and seven were susceptible to the acetone and chloroform extracts respectively at the test concentration of 5 mg/ml. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged between 0.1 and 5.0 mg/ml, while minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) ranged between 1.0 and >5 mg/ml for all the extracts. Average log reductions in viable cell counts for all the extracts ranged between 0.1 Log10 and 7.5 Log10 cfu/ml after 12 h interaction at 1 × MIC and 2 × MIC. Most of the extracts were rapidly bactericidal at 2 × MIC achieving a complete elimination of most of the test organisms within 12 h exposure time. The effect of combinations of the crude extracts of H. pedunculatum leaves and eight antibiotics was investigated by means of checkerboard and time-kill methods. In the checkerboard method, synergies of between 45.83-56.81 percent were observed and this is independent of Gram reaction, with combinations in the aqueous extract yielding largely antagonistic interactions (18.75 percent). The time kill assay also detected synergy that is independent of Gram reaction with a ≥ 3Log10 potentiation of the bactericidal activity of the test antibiotics. We conclude that the crude leaf extracts of H. pedunculatum could be potential source of broad spectrum antibiotics resistance modulating compounds. The interactions between crude extracts of H. longifolium in combination with six first-line antibiotics using both the time-kill and the checkerboard methods were carried out. The time-kill method revealed the highest bactericidal activity exemplified by a 6.7 Log10 reduction in cell density against Salmonella sp. when the extract and Penicillin G are combined at ½ × MIC. Synergistic response constituted about 65 percent, while indifference and antagonism constituted about 28.33 percent and 6.67 percent in the time kill assay, respectively. The checkerboard method also revealed that the extracts improved bactericidal effects of the antibiotics. About 61.67 percent of all the interactions were synergistic, while indifference interactions constituted about 26.67 percent and antagonistic interactions was observed in approximately 11.66 percent. The in vitro antioxidant property and phytochemical constituents of the aqueous crude leaf extracts of H. longifolium and H. pedunculatum was investigated. The scavenging activity on superoxide anions, DPPH, H2O2, NO and ABTS; and the reducing power were determined, as well as the flavonoid, proanthocyanidin and phenolic contents of the extracts. The extracts exhibited scavenging activity in all radicals tested due to the presence of relatively high total phenol and flavonoids contents in the extracts. Our findings suggest that H. longifolium and H. pedunculatum are endowed with antioxidant phytochemicals and could serve as a base for future drugs. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the leaves of H. longifolium and H. pedunculatum yielded two known compounds. From the n-hexane fraction of H. longifolium a compound was isolated (Stigmasterol) and from the ethyl acetate fraction of H. pedunculatum another compound (β-sitosterol) was isolated. The compounds were isolated and identified using various techniques. The antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic and anti-pyretic activities of these compounds have been reported in literatures. In general, the experiments and tests conducted in this study appear to have justified the folkloric medicinal uses of H. longifolium and H. pedunculatum for the treatment of stress related ailments and wound infections and make a substantial contribution to the knowledge base of the use of herbal medicine for the treatment of the microbial infections.
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Butcher, Andrew C. "Amalgam ethnobotanic research centre /." Diss., Pretoria : [s.n.], 2003. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-12012003-134830.
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Lockwood, Devi(Devi Kailasa). "The living library : an indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon is combating climate change, deforestation, and loss of traditional knowledge by preserving their plants in the wild." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123784.
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Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2019Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 28).
Farmacia Viva Indigena, the Living Indigenous Pharmacy, is five hectares of primary forest in the Amazon preserved as an intact library of indigenous plants, many of them medicinally useful, near the river village of Paoyhan in Ucayali, Peru. The library is an indigenous climate adaptation strategy in the rainforest, and an effort to revive the Shipibo-Conibo culture of healing with medicinal plants. The pharmacy was established last year by Alianza Arkana, an NGO in Pucallpa. They have divided the land into sub-parcels, and are categorizing and archiving each of the medicinal plants contained inside. In Ucayali, the main environmental concern is deforestation. Land-use change also changes patterns of rainfall, as water is transported in the atmosphere through aerial rivers. The Living Library is an archive and repository of plants in a rainforest that is rapidly disappearing-an attempt to revitalize and preserve indigenous knowledge systems of medicinal plant life in Shipibo culture. The living library of plants in Paoyhan provides an economic alternative to deforestation. They also hope to attract ecotourism, scientists, and possibly pharmaceutical companies. Making the land useful by extracting medicines is one way of protecting it from loggers who enter legally or illegally.
by Devi Lockwood.
S.M. in Science Writing
S.M.inScienceWriting Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing