Browsing by Author "Nakamatte, Esther"

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    AFLP-based differentiation in north Atlantic species of Carex sect. Phacocystis
    (Nordic Journal of Botany, 2007) Nakamatte, Esther; Lye, Kare A.
    A total of 59 plants from 30 populations of 15 species of Carex sect. Phacocystis (including Carex bicolor as outgroup) from eastern Canada and northern Europe were investigated for genetic differentiation of taxa using AFLP. Seven species were studied with material from both Europe and America, three species were investigated with North American material only and five species with European material only. The neighbour joining analysis (NJ) indicates that Carex bicolor may not belong to section Phacocystis, while all other investigated species clearly belong to this section. The sorting of the species according to NJ and UPGMA is mostly in accordance with accepted taxonomy, but with the exceptions that the American C. bigelowii ssp. bigelowii may be specifically distinct from European C. bigelowii ssp. rigida, and C. stans should perhaps not be considered a subspecies or variety of C. aquatilis, but either as a separate species or as a hybrid between C.aquatilis and C. bigelowii. North American C. aquatilis is heterogenic and may contain more than one species.
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    Foliar micro-morphology of Carex sect. Phacocystis in northern Europe
    (Nordic Journal of Botany, 2010) Nakamatte, Esther; Lye, Ka°re A.
    A micro‐morphological analysis of leaf epidermis (adaxial and abaxial sides) of fifteen taxa of Carex section Phacocystis was carried out using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three taxa were epistomatic (C. nigra var. nigra, C.nigra var. juncea and C. subspathacea), seven taxa were hypostomatic (C. acuta, C. bigelowii ssp. bigelowii, C. bigelowii ssp. rigida, C. cespitosa, C. elata, C. lyngbyei and C. paleacea) and five amphistomatic (C. aquatilis, C.×halophila, C. rufina, C. stans and C. trinervis). Epidermal modifications such as prickles were present in many species. The micro‐morphological leaf characters of the investigated species were found to be important for distinguishing individual taxa but not for subsectional classification.
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    In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Cleome gynandra Extracts
    (J Nat Prod Res Updates, 2016) Igoli, John O.; Masao, Catherine A.; Orkpeh, Uterdzua; Nakamatte, Esther; Yakumbur, Donald T.; Nnadozie, Theresa; Yunusa, Saratu; Vihior, Burbwa; Manyi, Manasseh M.; Tor-Anyiin, Terrumun A.
    Cleome gynandra is a commonly neglected plant in East and West Africa. It is used as a vegetable and for the treatment of malaria and several ailments. Samples of the plant were collected from Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. The plant samples were extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol and the extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening and in vivo antimalarial activity. Chromatographic techniques were used to isolate apigenin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, kaempferol, taraxasterol, pheophytin A, sitosterol, stigmasterol, monoacetyl glycerol, 2-monoacetyl glycerol, oleic acid, mixtures of fatty acids and triglycerides, hexadecanoic acid and two novel eicosatetraenes identified as 5, 7, 13, 15-eicosatetraen-9, 12-diol and 9-hydroxy-5, 7, 13, 15-eicosatetraen-12-one. The compounds were identified based on their NMR spectra and compared with literature reports. The combined methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the plant were evaluated for in vivo antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei NK65 using white albino mice. Forty eighty mice of either sex were separated into eight groups of six each. Seven groups were intraperitoneally inoculated with 107Plasmodium berghei NK65 per body weight. The 8thgroup was neither infected nor treated. Group 2-7 were orally administered with 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200mg/kg of the plant extract and 25mg/kg of Halofantrine (as control) for four days, whereas the mice in group 1 were not treated. The in vivo antimalarial results revealed significant clearance of Plasmodium bergheiNK65 from group 4 administered 50mg/kg of the plant extract and group 7 administered 25mg/kg of halofantrine on the 14th day of post infection. Group 1 which was infected and untreated showed significant level of parasitaemia up till 14th day of post infection. The dose at 50 mg/kg body weight of extract showed the best activity against Plasmodium berghei NK65since it showed 73.2% clearance.