In an ethnopharmacological survey, extracts of the six East African medicinal plants Entada abyssinica (stem bark), Terminalia spinosa (young branches), Harrisonia abyssinica (roots), Ximenia caffra (roots), Azadirachta indica (stem bark and leaves), and Spilanthes mauritiana (roots and flowers) were tested against 105 strains of bacteria from seven genera (Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Mycobacterium). The minimum inhibitory concentration reached by 50% (MIC 50% ) and 90% (MIC 90% ) of the strains for the extracts of E. abyssinica, T. spinosa, X. caffra, and A. indica (stem bark) ranged from 0.13-8 mg/ml and from 0.5 to >8 mg/ml, respectively. Their minimum bactericidal concentration by 50% (MBC 50% ) and MBC 90% were all between 0.5 and >8 mg/ml. H. abyssinica, A. indica (leaves), and S. mauritiana (roots and flowers) had MIC and MBC values ≥8 mg/ml. Mycobacteria were not inhibited at extract concentrations of 0.5-2 mg/ml. lt is concluded that plant extracts with low MIC and MBC values may serve as sources for compounds with therapeutic potency.

The specificity of the Pastorex Aspergillus latex agglutination test for the diagnosis of manifest aspergillosis is hampered by the occurrence of false-positive results. In order to prove whether or not the false-positive reactions may be caused by the uptake of the soluble galactomannan antigen from the environment, the presence of the antigen was tested in foods, air samples, antibiotics for therapeutic use and faeces. Reactions of the Aspergillus latex agglutination test were found in 15 (79%) out of 19 samples of meals prepared in a hospital kitchen, in five out of six canned vegetables from a supermarket, in all of six samples of pasta and rice bought in health shops, in the faeces of four bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients and of four healthy subjects and in one and two batches of the antibiotics co-amoxyclav and piperacillin respectively. The concentration of the antigen in faecal material was calculated to be in the range of 1.2-38.4 micrograms g-1. It is concluded that the faecal galactomannan antigen may reach the circulation in patients with dysfunction of the intestinal mucosal barrier, e.g. BMT recipients, thus leading to diagnostically false-positive antigenaemia.

Extracts of the traditionally used medicinal plants Entada abyssinica (stem bark), Terminalia spinosa (young branches), Harrisonia abyssinica (roots), Ximenia caffra (roots), Azadirachta indica (stem bark), Zanha africana (stem bark) and Spilanthes mauritiana (roots and flowers) were investigated for fungistatic and fungicidal activity against Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. by a microtitre serial dilution technique. Entada abyssinica, T. spinosa, X. caffra, A. indica, and Z. africana showed activity against various Candida species. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 0.006 to > 8 mg ml-1 and the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) from 0.06 to > 8 mg ml-1. Extracts from S. mauritiana (both roots and flowers) exhibited no activity against Candida spp., but against Aspergillus spp., the MIC and MFC values ranged from 0.13 to 0.25 mg ml-1 and from 0.13 to 1 mg ml-1 respectively. It is concluded that the extracts contain compounds with high antifungal potency.

Summary. Bacteriophages in different stages of maturation were found in thin sections of a clinical isolate of Helicobacter (Campylobacter) pylori. Mature phage heads measured 70 x 60 nm and the tail at least 120 nm. Lysogeny was maintained during subculture on blood agar for more than 3 months after isolation from a gastric biopsy.