Background COVID-19 has been one of the greatest challenges the world has faced since the second world war. This study aimed at investigating the distribution of COVID-19 in both space and time in Malawi. Methods The study used publicly available data of COVID-19 cases for the period from 2 April 2020 to 28 October 2020. Semiparametric spatial temporal models were fitted to the number of monthly confirmed cases as an outcome data, with time and district as independent variables, where district was the spatial unit, while accounting for sociodemographic factors. Results The study found significant effects of location and time, with the two interacting. The spatial distribution of COVID-19 risk showed major cities being at greater risk than rural areas. Over time, the COVID-19 risk was increasing then decreasing in most districts with the rural districts being consistently at lower risk. High proportion of elderly people was positively associated with COVID-19 risk (β = 1.272, 95% CI [0.171, 2.370]) than low proportion of elderly people. There was negative association between poverty incidence and COVID-19 risk (β = −0.100, 95% CI [−0.136, −0.065]). Conclusion Future or present strategies to limit the spread of COVID-19 should target major cities and the focus should be on time periods that had shown high risk. Furthermore, the focus should be on elderly and rich people.

There have been increasing consumer preferences for foods and beverages prepared with natural additives. Regular consumption of functional foods that contain significant amounts of bioactive phytochemicals has been associated with a reduced risk of several types of non-communicable diseases. However, under certain circumstances, some phytochemical food additives and ingredients are known to be potentially toxic. This chapter will discuss various categories of phytochemical additives based on their chemical structural classes and mode of action, the claimed health benefits, and the potential toxicity of each class. It will also provide a review of the studies on important natural food additives that are used as preservatives, coloring agents, sweeteners and anti-caking agents. Finally, current challenges and future research directions for phytochemical food additives will be presented.

Background: COVID-19 has been the greatest challenge the world has faced since the second world war. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of COVID-19 in both space and time in Malawi. Methods: The study used publicly available data of COVID-19 cases for the period from 24th June to 20th August, 2020. Semiparametric spatial temporal models were fitted to the number of weekly confirmed cases as an outcome data, with time and location as independent variables. Results: The study found significant main effect of location and time with the two interacting. The spatial distribution of COVID-19 showed major cities being at greater risk than rural areas. Over time the COVID-19 risk was increasing then decreasing in most districts with the rural districts being consistently at lower risk. Conclusion. Future or present strategies to avert the spread of COVID-19 should target major cities by limiting international exposure. In addition, the focus should be on time points that had shown high risk.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of 17 edible wild fruits that are widely distributed and consumed in Malawi for pharmacological value exploration. Qualitative phytochemical analysis, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), total antioxidant activity (TAA), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH) were performed in aqueous and methanolic fruit extracts. The results showed that the extracts contained alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, glycosides, coumarins, phenolic compounds, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, and quinones. Piliostigma thonningii had the highest total phenolic content ( 1675.33 ± 12.34  mg GAEg-1 FW) in methanolic extracts, and Annona senegalensis gave the highest levels of total flavonoid content ( 649.67 ± 2.08  mg RE g-1 FW) in aqueous extracts. The results of antioxidant activities (FRAP, TAA, and DPPH) varied widely, and the variations were significant ( P < 0.05 ). Thespesia garckeana and Mangifera indica exhibited a high ability to chelate metal cations in methanolic extracts and in aqueous extracts, respectively. DPPH levels were higher in aqueous extracts and ranged from 11.07% to 99.61%. This study provides evidence that the studied edible fruits of Malawi have potential as value-added products for various treatments of oxidative stress-associated ailments as they contain more phytochemical constituents. We recommend further studies to determine if the presence of a particular class of phytochemicals would translate into the bioactivity capability of these edible fruits.

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