Browsing by Author "Odyek, Olwa"

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    The anti-mycobacterial activity of Lantana camara a plant traditionally used to treat symptoms of tuberculosis in South-western Uganda
    (African health sciences, 2009) Kirimuhuzya, Claude; Waako, Paul; Joloba, Moses; Odyek, Olwa
    Tuberculosis continues to be a devastating public health problem. Many communities in Uganda use medicinal plants to treat various infections, including respiratory tract infections. There are claims that some can treat tuberculosis. Verifying some of these claims could lead to discovery of lead compounds for development of a TB drug. Methods: Chloroform and methanol extracts of L. camara collected from South-western Uganda were screened against three strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the agar-well diffusion method. H37Rv, the rifampicin-resistant TMC-331 and a non-resistant wild strain (28-25271). The MIC and MBC were determined using the Agar dilution method on Middle brook 7H11. Results: The methanol extract showed the highest activity against all the three strains used, with zones of inhibition of 18.0-22.5 mm and MIC values of 20 μg/ml for H37Rv and 15 μg/ml for both TMC-331 and wild stain. The values for rifampicin were 1.0 μg/ml for both H37Rv and wild strain but rifampicin hardly showed any activity on TMC-331. The MBC value for the methanol extract of L. camara was 30μg/ml for the H37Rv, and 20μg/ml for both the TMC-331 and wild strains of M. tuberculosis. The MBC for rifampicin was 2.0μg/ml for both H37Rv and the wild strain.
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    Antibacterial and antifungal activities of extracts of Zanthoxylum chalybeum and Warburgia ugandensis, Ugandan medicinal plants
    (African Health Sciences, 2001) Olila, D.; Odyek, Olwa; Opuda, Asibo J.
    Measles is a killer disease of children in Uganda. The treatment of the disease is mainly directed at the secondary microbial infections. A large proportion of the population in Uganda still relies on the use of herbal remedies, which have been claimed to produce beneficial responses. In this study, the efficacy of Warburgia ugandensis and Zanthoxylum chalybeum against common bacteria and fungi was investigated. Bactericidal and antifungal assays were done using extracts derived from Z. chalybeum and W. ugandensis (agar well diffusion, disc diffusion and colony count assays). All extracts (ethanolic, petroleum ether and aqueous) of Z. chalybeum did not show antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical investigations of Zanthoxylum chalybeum (seed) yielded a pure crystalline alkaloid (27-135D) which was characterized as skimianine based on 1H-NMR spectroscopy and comparison with spectra of authentic samples. Skimmianine did not have antimicrobial activity in this test system. W. ugandensis water extracts elicited antibacterial activity against both Escherischia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the agar well assay but not in the disc diffusion assay. Warburgia ugandensis water extracts and fraction 27-163D also showed antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Chromatography of extracts of Warburgia ugandensis stem bark afforded compound 49-169K, which was characterized as the sesquiterpine muzigadial (by 1H-NMR spectroscopy), which did not show antibacterial activity but had antifungal activity against C. albicans. Therefore, the claimed efficacy of W. ugandensis could be attributable to antibacterial and antifungal activity of its components