Biology

The use of medicinal plants plays a major role in the primary health care of human beings in Ethiopia. A study was carried out to document ethnomedicinal plants used for the treatment of gastrointestinal parasitic diseases of human in Yeki district, southwest Ethiopia. The key informants were selected using purposive sampling method. The information was obtained from 26 informants and 8 herbalists through the use of a semi-structured interview and observation on the habitat of medicinal plants. The collected data were analyzed using excel spread sheet. The survey revealed that 29 plant species belonging to 20 families were identified, and they were used for the treatment of gastrointestinal parasitic diseases of human. Among different intestinal parasite studied, protozoa (Amoebiasis) contributed the highest prevalence (48.28%) which infects children frequently. Lamiaceae (13.79%) species was the most frequently used plant family. Leaves were the most frequently used plant parts, constituting 51.72% followed by bark, seed, and fruit each with 6.89%. The remedies were prepared crushing single plant (62.5%) and in few cases mixtures of different plants (37.5%). Plants like Maytenus arbutifolia and Pycnostachys meyeri were approved by most of the healers which was used to control parasites. The collated data analysis revealed that a protozoan parasite infection is the most prevalence in the area due to less personal and environmental hygiene. The study revealed that information on medicinal plants was mostly confined to older people, and there is danger that this knowledge can be lost before being passed on to next generations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to document information on these plant species so that the future generation can benefit from it. Further investigation should be carried out to validate the efficacy and safety of the aforementioned plants so as to provide cheap alternative ways of controlling parasites.

This  study  was  conducted  in  Zerat  Afromontane  Forest  in  North Showa  Zone of Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to investigate floristic composition and structure of the forest as well as to explore factors accounting for loss of forest in the study area.  Systematic sampling was used to collect vegetation data from 66 sample plots of size 20 x 20 m (400m 2 ). In-depth interviews were conducted with farmers living in close vicinity to the forest to identify challenges and threats on the forest.  R-statistical package, Estimate-S and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze the data.  Vegetation classification was performed using R-statistical package. Rarefaction was applied to compare the species richness of the plant communities in the study area.  Sorensen’s similarity coefficient was used to detect similarities among the plant communities. A total of 156 plants belonging to 133 genera and 67 families were identified.  Asteraceae is the most do...

Increased resistance to insecticides and established drugs by malaria vectors necessitate the search for alternative cost-effective malaria control tools in the Ethiopia. Traditional remedies are the most important source of therapeutics of the population and more than 85% of the traditional medical preparations in Ethiopia are of plant origin. As the Ethiopian indigenous medicinal plants' knowledge and diversity is vulnerable to be lost continuous documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge and the plant species is a priority. Thus, we report an ethnobotanical survey of plants traditionally used for malaria prevention and treatment in an indigenous villages of Tepi town south western Ethiopia. To document anti-malarial plant traditional knowledge and determine level of utilization for prevention and treatment of malaria by households, 40 household heads were surveyed by snow ball sampling of which eight household heads addressed by systematic purposive sampling were traditional healers. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using SPSS version 20. A total of twenty five plant species belonging to twenty two families have been reported. The most cited plant species for malaria prevention by healers were Cyperus species (52.11%), Allium sativum L. (24.15%), Lepidium sativum L. (9.34%) and Echinops kebericho Mesfin. (7.82%). This study has documented more anti-malarial plant species to be used in the indigenous village. The existing medicinal plant species and the indigenous knowledge on traditional medicinal plants in the study area were under serious threat and were at risk of getting lost. Therefore, urgently warrant sustainable conservation and further research is needed.

This  study  was  conducted  in  Zerat  Afromontane  Forest  in  North Showa  Zone of Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to investigate floristic composition and structure of the forest as well as to explore factors accounting for loss of forest in the study area.  Systematic sampling was used to collect vegetation data from 66 sample plots of size 20 x 20 m (400m 2 ). In-depth interviews were conducted with farmers living in close vicinity to the forest to identify challenges and threats on the forest.  R-statistical package, Estimate-S and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze the data.  Vegetation classification was performed using R-statistical package. Rarefaction was applied to compare the species richness of the plant communities in the study area.  Sorensen’s similarity coefficient was used to detect similarities among the plant communities. A total of 156 plants belonging to 133 genera and 67 families were identified.  Asteraceae is the most do...

This study was conducted in Zerat Afromontane Forest in North Showa Zone of Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to investigate floristic composition and structure of the forest as well as to explore factors accounting for loss of forest in the study area. Systematic sampling was used to collect vegetation data from 66 sample plots of size 20 x 20 m (400m 2). In-depth interviews were conducted with farmers living in close vicinity to the forest to identify challenges and threats on the forest. R-statistical package, EstimateS and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze the data. Vegetation classification was performed using R-statistical package. Rarefaction was applied to compare the species richness of the plant communities in the study area. Sorensen's similarity coefficient was used to detect similarities among the plant communities. A total of 156 plants belonging to 133 genera and 67 families were identified. Asteraceae is the most dominant family followed by Fabaceae and Lamiaceae. It was noted that 17 of the plants encountered in the study area are endemic to Ethiopia. Three plant communities were identified in the study area: Juniperus procera Community Type, Senecio gigas-Scorpiurus muricatus Community Type, and Maytenus obscura-Chenopodium album Community Type. Anthropogenic distrubances such as grazing by domestic animals, fuel wood and timber extraction are the main threats to the forest in the study area. Conservation measures such as awareness creation, provision of alternative energy sources and minimizing illegal timber production need to be practiced for sustainable use of the forest.

An ecological study was conducted in Zerat Afromontane Forest in North Showa Zone of Ethiopia. Systematic sampling was used to collect vegetation data from 66 sample plots of size 20 x 20 m. The altitude of each sample plot was measured using Garmin GPS. Anthropogenic disturbance in each plot was estimated using the following scales: 0 = no disturbance, 1 = slightly disturbed, 2 = moderately disturbed and 3 = highly disturbed. R statistical package was used to analyze the data. A total of 156 plants belonging to 67 families were identified. Cluster analysis revealed that there were three plant communities in the study area. Analysis of variance showed that plant distribution in Zerat forest was significantly related with altitude and disturbance. As disturbance has considerable influence on the plant communities, mitigation of disturbance should be one of the main measures that need to take into account in conservation planning in the study site.

This ethnobotanical study was carried out to identify and document medicinal plant practice in the Abeshige district, Gurage Zone of SNNP Region. Ethnobotanical information of medicinal plants was gathered through a semi-structured interview, field observation, group discussion and market survey. A total of 89 medicinal plants belonging to 47 families were reported and documented. Out of these medicinal plants, 75 species (84.26%) were reported to treat human aliments, 9 species (10.11%) livestock ailments and 5 species (5.67%) both human and livestock ailments. About 70 species (78.65%) of the plant taxa were collected from the wild and 17 species (19.1%) from home gardens and the remaining 2 species (2.25%) were collected from both wild and home garden. Herbs were found to be the most widely used life forms and this accounts for 33 species (37.1%) followed by 26species (29.2%) shrub and 20 species (22.5%) tree. The most frequently used plant parts were reported to be the leaves which was 40 taxa (44.94%) and then the roots 24 taxa (26.96%). Crushing and pounding a single plant part or a mixture of plant parts of different taxa widely used method of preparation. The different use categories of medicinal plant in the area included food, firewood, charcoal, construction and furniture. Religious teachings, Agricultural expansion, overgrazing, fire wood collection, charcoal production, cutting down trees for construction and furniture were major conservation threats which leads to the loss of indigenous knowledge. But some people were found to protect medicinal plants in home garden and agricultural fields. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned positive attitude of the local communities supplementary environmental education with regard to sustainable uses of medicinal plants could be useful.

The use of medicinal plants plays a major role in the primary health care of human beings in Ethiopia. A study was carried out to document ethnomedicinal plants used for the treatment of gastrointestinal parasitic diseases of human in Yeki district, southwest Ethiopia. The key informants were selected using purposive sampling method. The information was obtained from 26 informants and 8 herbalists through the use of a semi-structured interview and observation on the habitat of medicinal plants. The collected data were analyzed using excel spread sheet. The survey revealed that 29 plant species belonging to 20 families were identified, and they were used for the treatment of gastrointestinal parasitic diseases of human. Among different intestinal parasite studied, protozoa (Amoebiasis) contributed the highest prevalence (48.28%) which infects children frequently. Lamiaceae (13.79%) species was the most frequently used plant family. Leaves were the most frequently used plant parts, constituting 51.72% followed by bark, seed, and fruit each with 6.89%. The remedies were prepared crushing single plant (62.5%) and in few cases mixtures of different plants (37.5%). Plants like Maytenus arbutifolia and Pycnostachys meyeri were approved by most of the healers which was used to control parasites. The collated data analysis revealed that a protozoan parasite infection is the most prevalence in the area due to less personal and environmental hygiene. The study revealed that information on medicinal plants was mostly confined to older people, and there is danger that this knowledge can be lost before being passed on to next generations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to document information on these plant species so that the future generation can benefit from it. Further investigation should be carried out to validate the efficacy and safety of the aforementioned plants so as to provide cheap alternative ways of controlling parasites.

Increased resistance to insecticides and established drugs by malaria vectors necessitate the search for alternative cost-effective malaria control tools in the Ethiopia. Traditional remedies are the most important source of therapeutics of the population and more than 85% of the traditional medical preparations in Ethiopia are of plant origin. As the Ethiopian indigenous medicinal plants' knowledge and diversity is vulnerable to be lost continuous documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge and the plant species is a priority. Thus, we report an ethnobotanical survey of plants traditionally used for malaria prevention and treatment in an indigenous villages of Tepi town south western Ethiopia. To document anti-malarial plant traditional knowledge and determine level of utilization for prevention and treatment of malaria by households, 40 household heads were surveyed by snow ball sampling of which eight household heads addressed by systematic purposive sampling were traditional healers. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using SPSS version 20. A total of twenty five plant species belonging to twenty two families have been reported. The most cited plant species for malaria prevention by healers were Cyperus species (52.11%), Allium sativum L. (24.15%), Lepidium sativum L. (9.34%) and Echinops kebericho Mesfin. (7.82%). This study has documented more anti-malarial plant species to be used in the indigenous village. The existing medicinal plant species and the indigenous knowledge on traditional medicinal plants in the study area were under serious threat and were at risk of getting lost. Therefore, urgently warrant sustainable conservation and further research is needed.

Over 20 million Ethiopians depend on enset (Ensete ventricosum) as a staple or costaple food. “Kocho,” “Bulla,” and “Amicho” are the three main food types obtained from enset. This review aimed to summarize the physicochemical and microbial dynamics of kocho. It is the most common food obtained from the scraped pseudostem and decorticated corm of enset after a long period of fermentation. The quality of kocho depends on the maturity of the enset plant, the enset processing method, the fermentation period, and the dynamics of microorganisms during the fermentation process. Microorganisms play a significant role in kocho fermentation to enhance its nutritional quality, improve sensory properties, and reduce spoilage and disease-causing agents. The populations of microbes available in kocho fermentation include lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Enterobacteriaceae, acetic acid bacteria (AAB), yeasts and molds, and Clostridium spp., which have both positive and negative impacts on kocho qualit...

Urinary tract infection (UTI) remains the most common bacterial infection that affects millions of people around the world, especially pregnant women (PW) and people with diabetes mellitus (DM). This systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed at finding the pooled prevalence of UTI and its associated risk factors among PW and DM patients. Scientific articles written in English were recovered from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Google Engine, and University Library Databases. “Prevalence,” “urinary tract infection,” “associated factors,” “pregnant women,” “diabetic patients,” and “Ethiopia” were search terms used for this study. For critical appraisal, PRISMA-2009 was applied. Heterogeneity and publication bias were evaluated using Cochran’s Q , inverse variance ( I 2 ), and funnel plot asymmetry tests. A random effect model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of UTI and its associated factors among both patients, along with the pa...

Background: Collection and storage of an infant's cord blood at birth is an option available to many new parents. Antenatal health care providers have an important role in providing non-biased and evidence based information to expectant parents about cord blood and tissue banking options. The aim of this paper was to identify and review studies of health care professionals' knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning cord blood banking and the sources by which healthcare professionals obtained their information on this topic. Methods: An integrative review was conducted using several electronic databases to identify papers on health care professionals' knowledge, attitudes and practices pertaining to cord blood banking. The CASP tool was used to determine validity and quality of the studies included in the review. Results: The search of the international literature identified nine papers which met review inclusion criteria. The literature review identified that there was little focus placed on antenatal health care professionals' knowledge of cord blood banking options despite these health care professionals being identified by expectant parents as their preferred, key source of information. Conclusion: Limited high quality studies have investigated what health care professionals know and communicate to expectant parents regarding cord blood banking. Further research should focus on understanding the knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare professionals and how they communicate with expectant parents about this issue. In addition, how this knowledge influences professional practice around birth is also important, as this may positively or negatively impact the information that is provided to expectant parents.

Banana is one of the important fruit crops and food source for million people in developing countries. In the study explants (Suckers) of two banana cultivars were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP and Kinetin sole and in combination for shoot initiation and multiplication. The concentration of BAP alone tested was (0.5mg/l and 1.0mg/l) and kinetin (0.5mg/l and 1.0mg/l) whereas, the combination of 0.5mg/l BAP+0.5mg/l kin and 1.0mg/l BAP +0.5mg/l kin were used for shoot initiation. For multiplication, concentration of BAP(2.0,2.5 and 2.5mg/l) alone and in combination BAP+ Kin (1.5mg/l +1.5mg/l, 2.0mg/l +2.0mg/l and 2.5mg/l +2.5mg/l) were used. The rapid shoot initiation obtained from MS medium supplemented with the combination of 1.0mg/l BAP with 0.5mg/l kin (8 and 10 days) in both Poyo and Giant Cavendish respectively. The highest multiple shoot ( 6.0 and 4.5/explants), in Poyo and Giant Cavendish were observed on the MS medium fortified with 2.5mg/ l BAP+2.5mg/l kin and 2.0mg/l BAP +2.0mg/l Kin respectively. For root induction 1.5mg/l IBA and 1.5mg/l IAA each tested separately on MS medium. IBA showed best performance with 5.12 and 4.69 root/ plantlet after four weeks of inoculation in Poyo and Giant Cavendish respectively. After 12 weeks in vitro plantlets were transferred to green house for acclimatization where 82% and 88% survival rate was recorded in Poyo and Giant Cavendish respectively. The two cultivars studied exhibited variation in shoot initiation, shoot multiplication and rooting. Among the two cultivars tested Poyo found to be more responsive for in-vitro techniques. It had highest rate of shoot initiation and multiplication.

This study was aimed to determine woody species composition, diversity, and vegetation structure and to investigate major threats to Wurg forest, southwest Ethiopia. In order to collect vegetation data, 64 (400 m2) sample plots from eight transect lines were employed. The distances between transect lines and plots were 400 m and 200 m, respectively. DBH of woody species >2.5 cm and the height >2 m were measured and recorded. Voucher specimens were brought to the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute for identification and deposited there. R program version 12.5.2 software and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet were used to analyze plant community classification and structural analysis, respectively. A total of 76 woody species representing 40 families were recorded. Rubiaceae was the dominant family followed by Asteraceae. The average Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′) and the average evenness values of Wurg forest were 3.38 and 0.90, respectively. Four plant community types were identif...

is study was aimed to determine woody species composition, diversity, and vegetation structure and to investigate major threats to Wurg forest, southwest Ethiopia. In order to collect vegetation data, 64 (400 m 2) sample plots from eight transect lines were employed. e distances between transect lines and plots were 400 m and 200 m, respectively. DBH of woody species >2.5 cm and the height >2 m were measured and recorded. Voucher specimens were brought to the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute for identification and deposited there. R program version 12.5.2 software and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet were used to analyze plant community classification and structural analysis, respectively. A total of 76 woody species representing 40 families were recorded. Rubiaceae was the dominant family followed by Asteraceae. e average Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′) and the average evenness values of Wurg forest were 3.38 and 0.90, respectively. Four plant community types were identified by using the presence/absence values of each species. e total density of woody species with DBH > 2.5 cm was 1745.3 ha −1. e DBH and height class distributions showed an inverted J-shaped pattern, which indicates a good regeneration potential of the forest. e most frequently observed species (92%) was Syzygium guineense, which contributed 46% of the total basal area. e composition of seedling, sapling, and adult trees/shrubs species was 4966.07 ha −1 , 3125.78 ha −1 , and 1745.27 ha −1 , respectively. However, the major threat to the forest was selective cutting of some woody species for various purposes. erefore, raising local community awareness on conservation and sustainable use of the forest and exploring various alternatives for local communities' livelihood and promoting private and community plantations are recommendable.