The availability of usable water in an area is the first indication of its demonstrated ability to sustain life. In peri-urban areas, urbanites utilize water from springs and compete disapprovingly for it amongst themselves and with animals. The straggling populace and the compromised sanitation are deteriorating spring water sources. There is an urgent need to analyze springs to ascertain their bacteriological and physical quality for possible cross contaminations that may be of public health importance. This study evaluated the bacteriological and physical profile of water from three springs in Kyambogo University vicinity. Two weekly water samples from each spring for five weeks were obtained and analyzed. The physicochemical parameters (temperature, pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, chlorides and sulphates), total coliform and E. coli counts of the samples were determined. The mean temperature of the water samples from Katalina, Airport spring 1 and Airport spring 2 were 20.53˚C ± 1.2˚C, 21.53˚C ± 0.60˚C and 20.33˚C ± 1.62˚C respectively. The corresponding statistical mean pH values were 5.33 ± 0.25, 6.30 ± 0.10 and 7.10 ± 0.46. All the springs were found to be microbiologically contaminated with total coliforms and E. coli above WHO permissible limits. Conclusively, water from the sampled springs are not safe for drinking and the immediate strategy is to boil or treat the water before drinking. Drainage ditches should be constructed uphill of the springs to divert torrential flowing rain water which carry contaminants washed from Kyambogo hill.

Uganda is an agrarian country where farming employs more than 60% of the population. Aflatoxins remain a scourge in the country, unprecedentedly reducing the nutritional and economic value of agricultural foods. This review was sought to synthetize the country’s major findings in relation to the mycotoxins’ etiology, epidemiology, detection, quantification, exposure assessment, control, and reduction in different matrices. Electronic results indicate that aflatoxins in Uganda are produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have been reported in maize, sorghum, sesame, beans, sunflower, millet, peanuts, and cassava. The causes and proliferation of aflatoxigenic contamination of Ugandan foods have been largely due to poor pre-, peri-, and postharvest activities, poor government legislation, lack of awareness, and low levels of education among farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers on this plague. Little diet diversity has exacerbated the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in Uganda because most of the staple foods are aflatoxin-prone. On the detection and control, these are still marginal, though some devoted scholars have devised and validated a sensitive portable device for on-site aflatoxin detection in maize and shown that starter cultures used for making some cereal-based beverages have the potential to bind aflatoxins. More efforts should be geared towards awareness creation and vaccination against hepatitis B and hepatitis A to reduce the risk of development of liver cancer among the populace.

Uganda is predominantly an agricultural country where farming employ more than 60% of the population. Aflatoxins remain a scourge in the country, unprecedentedly reducing the value of agricultural foods and in high enough exposure levels, implicated for hepatocellular carcinoma, stunted growth in children and untimely deaths. This review synthetizes the country’s major findings in relation to the mycotoxin’s etiology, epidemiology, detection, quantification, exposure assessment, control and reduction in different matrices. It also highlights some of the management strategies for aflatoxin control that could be adopted in Uganda. Review results indicate that aflatoxins in Uganda is majorly produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have been reported in maize (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), sunflower (Helianthus annus), millet (Eleusine coracana), a bovine milk-based product, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) with the highest content reported in cassava, beans and peanuts. The causes and proliferation of aflatoxigenic contamination of Ugandan foods have been largely due to poor pre-, peri- and post-harvest activities, poor government legislation, lack of awareness and low levels of education among farmers, agri-entreprenuers and consumers on the plague. Aflatoxin B1 is the most prevalent aflatoxin in Uganda. There is still limited research on aflatoxins in Uganda because the surveillance, reduction and control carry prohibitive costs. A few exposure assessments have been done especially in human sera and dependence on a single or a related set of foods with little diet diversity has exacerbated the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in Uganda because most of the staple foods are aflatoxin-prone. On the detection, control and reduction, these are still marginal, though some devoted scholars have devised and validated a sensitive portable device for on-site aflatoxin detection in maize as well as shown that starter cultures used for making some cereal-based beverages have the potential to bind aflatoxins. More effort should be geared towards awareness creation through training of farmers and traders in the cereal value chain as well as developing capacity to monitor aflatoxins. Vaccination against Hepatitis B and Hepatitis A should be emphasized to reduce the risk of development of liver cancer among the populace.

No abstract

Environmental isolates, genetically manipulated organisms, plants, animals and their products and economical methods are being expertly explored to biosynthesize poly-3-hydroxybutyrate plastics of comparable properties to petroplastics. This study assessed a hypothesized feasibility of utilizing a proliferative pleustophytic greenery, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laubach) in Lake Victoria, Uganda as a potential carbon source for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesis. The  poly-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesizing bacteria (Bacillus megaterium) was isolated from municipal sewage sludge and harnessed for batch fermentation of acid-catalysed water hyacinth biomass. Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate  formed in the cytoplasm of the bacterial cells was extracted by chloroform extraction method, and thereof confirmed and quantified by UV spectroscopy. Batch fermentation was carried out in 100ml of the culture media in a 250ml fermenter for different times (48, 96, 144 and 192 hours) to determine the best incubation time for maximum yield. An all-out net yield of 61.3% was realized after 96 hours of fermentation. Utilization of this ecological plague for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate biosynthesis is a promising strategy for regulating the weed population along the length of Nile River and the Victorian basin.

Uganda is predominantly an agricultural country where farming employ more than 60% of the population. Aflatoxins remain a scourge in the country, unprecedentedly reducing the value of agricultural foods and in high enough exposure levels, implicated for hepatocellular carcinoma, stunted growth in children and untimely deaths. This review synthetizes the country’s major findings in relation to the mycotoxin’s etiology, epidemiology, detection, quantification, exposure assessment, control and reduction in different matrices. It also highlights some of the management strategies for aflatoxin control that could be adopted in Uganda. Review results indicate that aflatoxins in Uganda is majorly produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have been reported in maize (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), sunflower (Helianthus annus), millet (Eleusine coracana), a bovine milk-based product, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) with the highest content reported in cassava, beans and peanuts. The causes and proliferation of aflatoxigenic contamination of Ugandan foods have been largely due to poor pre-, peri- and post-harvest activities, poor government legislation, lack of awareness and low levels of education among farmers, agri-entreprenuers and consumers on the plague. Aflatoxin B1 is the most prevalent aflatoxin in Uganda. There is still limited research on aflatoxins in Uganda because the surveillance, reduction and control carry prohibitive costs. A few exposure assessments have been done especially in human sera and dependence on a single or a related set of foods with little diet diversity has exacerbated the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in Uganda because most of the staple foods are aflatoxin-prone. On the detection, control and reduction, these are still marginal, though some devoted scholars have devised and validated a sensitive portable device for on-site aflatoxin detection in maize as well as shown that starter cultures used for making some cereal-based beverages have the potential to bind aflatoxins. More effort should be geared towards awareness creation through training of farmers and traders in the cereal value chain as well as developing capacity to monitor aflatoxins. Vaccination against Hepatitis B and Hepatitis A should be emphasized to reduce the risk of development of liver cancer among the populace.

Phytochemicals in Rosmarinus officinalis leaves, their total phenolic content, antioxidant potential and antiproliferative activity against human prostate (DU145), colon (CT26) and cervical (HeLa 229) cancer cells were investigated. Extraction was done separately using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol. A total of 32 compounds were identified, eight of which were reported for the first time. The highest phenolic content was 476.80 ± 0.69 µg/ml for the methanolic extract which also had the highest antioxidant activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 5.39 ± 0.09 mg/ml. Extracts exhibited the highest toxicity against prostate cancer cells and the least against cervical cancer cells.

Aim: To determine the phytochemicals in Ocimum gratissimum leaves, their phenolic content, antioxidant potential and antiproliferative activity against human prostate (DU145), colon (CT26) and cervical (HeLa 229) cancer cells. Place and Duration of the Study: Leaves of O. gratissimum were collected from cultivated plants in Wakiso district of Uganda. The samples were analyzed at Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory, Kampala (Uganda) and Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Traditional Medicine and Drug Research, Nairobi (Kenya) between August 2019 and January 2020.  Methodology: The leaves were separately extracted by maceration using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol. The methanolic extract was further fractionated and subjected to solid phase extraction. Antiproliferative assay was done using dimethylthiazol-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay while total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay respectively. Compounds were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: A total of 34 compounds were identified in the fractions. The highest mean total phenolic content was 401.07 ± 6.47 µg/ml for the methanolic extract which also had the highest antioxidant activity with minimum inhibitory concentration of 5.79 ± 0.13 mg/ml. There was a positive correlation between the antioxidant activity of the extracts and antiproliferative activity of the extracts on prostate and cervical cancer cell lines. The extracts exhibited the highest toxicity against prostate cancer cells and the least against cervical cancer cells. Conclusion: The results of this study support the traditional use of this plant in cancer therapy in Uganda. Further research should isolate pure anticancer compounds from this plant which could act as lead candidates in the development of anticancer drugs.