Elephants (Loxodonta africana) raiding crops around Tanzanian national parks threaten farmers' lives and livelihoods, thus contributing to negative local attitudes towards wildlife. As a result, there is often tacit support for poaching among local communities, and elephants suffer through reprisal poisoning or wounding or through being shot as 'problem animals' by game wardens. Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is growing as the wildlands that still have elephants, especially around national parks, reserves, and wildlife corridors, are increasingly being settled. Sisal string fences soaked in engine oil mixed with ground chili (Capsicum spp.) can dissuade elephants from entering fenced fields. For the last nine years, farmers around Mikumi National Park in Tanzania have been constructing these fences around ripening crops, and there have been no incidents of fences being broken by elephants. Community-based organizations (CBOs) that manage members' savings through village micro-credit associations help ensure the costs of materials and fence construction are met. Chili fences are rapidly becoming widespread, facilitated through farmer-to-farmer exchanges where teams of farmers demonstrate both the fences and the CBOs needed to support the project. We argue that promoting the use of chili fences, coupled with supporting CBOs, as a best practice within communities and government programs and budgets, will help reduce the need for HEC compensation, protect livelihoods, empower rural women, increase the food security of rural farmers, and help conserve elephants.

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Background Bersama abyssinica is a common herb in Africa, with diverse medical uses in different areas. The plant is well-known in Tanzania for treating respiratory disorders such as TB, tonsillitis, bronchitis, and asthma, and it has lately been utilized to treat COVID-19 symptoms. Water extract of leaf and stem bark has been registered as an herbal medication known as 'Coviba Dawa' in Tanzania for the relief of bacterial respiratory infections. The extracts, however, have not been scientifically tested for their anti-viral activities. The aim of this work was to test for the cytotoxicity and antiviral effects of bioactive ingredients from B. abyssinica extracts against the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Methods B. abyssinica leaves and stem bark were dried under shade in room temperature and then pulverized to obtain small pieces before soaking into different solvents. One hundred grams of each, leaves and stem bark, were extracted in petroleum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Water extract was obtained by decoction of stem bark and leaves into water. Phenols, flavonoids, tannins, and antioxidants were confirmed as components of the extracts. Analysis of polar extracts of bark stem bark and leaves was done. Antiviral screening and cytotoxicity experiments were conducted in a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratory facility according to International Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Results By the use of LC–MS/MS analysis, this study confirmed the existence of four phenolic compounds in B. abyssinica water extract; 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, 4-formyl-2-methoxyphenyl propionate, 7,8-Dihydroxy-4-methylcoumarin, and 2,3, 6-trimethoxyflavone with antioxidant activity. This study showed that, while the water extracts of B. abyssinica had significant antiviral activity against SARS Cov2 virus, it showed no cytotoxicity effect on Vero E6 cells. In particular, the water extract (Coviba dawa) showed 75% while ethylacetate fraction of B. abyssinica leaves showed a 50% in vitro viral inhibition, indicating that these substances may be useful for the development of future anti-viral agents. Conclusion We therefore recommend isolation of compounds for further profiling and development with a broader concentration range. We further recommend studies that determine the antiviral activity of extracts of B.abyssinica on other viral pathogens of clinical concern.

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BackgroundBersama abyssinica is widely distributed herb in Africa with varying medicinal uses in different countries. In Tanzania, the plant is famous for treatment of respiratory diseases including tuberculosis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, asthma and recently used for treatment Covid-19 symptoms. B. abyssinica is rich in several groups of active compounds including, phenolic acids, coumarins, flavonoids and tannins with potential pharmacological activities. Due to their broad medicinal uses, the water extract of leaf and stem bark has been registered as herbal medicine known as ‘Coviba Dawa’ for the treatment of viral and bacterial respiratory infections.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to extract active compounds from B.abyssinica, and analyse them for their effectiveness against Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2), the Delta variant obtained from Basel University thas is reported to be highly virulent.MethodsBersama abyssinica stembark and leaves were air dried, sequentially extracted in various solvent on increase of polarity to yield extracts and fractions. The extracts were tested for presence of several metabolites and antioxidant activity. The most active water extract was analyzed by LC-MS/MC for identification of active compounds and all extracts were shipped to Basel university for anti SARS-CoV-2 Delta B1screening and antiproliferation assay.Results The LC-MS/MS analysis of B. abyssinica water extract reveled the presence of four phenolic compounds namely; 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, 4-formyl-2-methoxyphenyl propionate; 7,8-Dihydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and 2,3, 6-trimethoxyflavone. These compounds were revealed to have antioxidant activity and futher invitro analysis against SARS-CoV-2 Delta B1 revealed the antiviral activity against coronavirus. ConclusionThis study revealed a wide variety of active metabolites in B. abyssinica water extract with high antioxidant and antiviral activity which points out at B. abyssinica as a potential source of effective anti viral agents including anti SARS Cov2. We recommend further pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of B. abyssinica metabolites as potential antiviral and antibacterial agents.

Volume 4 -Issue 2 of leather products affecting economy of the country [15][16][17]. Impacts of ticks do not end on large mammals but also small ruminant and birds including ostrich leading to severe skin damage and loss [13,[18][19][20][21]. However, poor animal keeping and grazing method such as free range landraces especially in pastoralist communities have been reported to amplify the problem in Africa including Tanzania [22][23][24]. The hard ticks especially the A. gemma and R. appendiculatus are the main cause of skins and hides damage in Africa [25,26] whereas H. marginatum infest bird skin as well. The overall effect of tick on animals and birds lead to downgrading of hides and skins and finally rejection by processing industries [16,15]. In Somalia and Ethiopia for instance, Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases (TTBDs) have been reported to have high impact on tannery industry leading to sluggish in leather industry [27][28][29].Management of ticks has been solely based on chemicals through spray and dipping of animals in chemical such as organophosphate

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