| dc.description.abstract | Medicinal plants have been used worldwide in managing human and animal diseases. However,
their use and community-based formulation methods in many places, including Mbeya Rural
District in Tanzania, are rarely described or documented. This study assessed the ethnobotany
and antibacterial effects of Physalis peruviana in managing typhoid fever infections in Mbeya
Rural District. The research was conducted on five villages;108 key informants, including 93
household members and 15 traditional healers, were involved in the study. The agar diffusion
method evaluated the in vitro antibacterial activity of aqueous leaf extract of Physalis
peruviana. LC-MS/MS was used to identify the phytochemical compounds in the Physalis
peruviana leaf. Findings from this study indicate that all informants (100%) know the Physalis
peruviana leaves as a medicine for treating typhoid fever. Boiling and soaking of leaves showed
efficacy against the antibacterial activity of Salmonella typhi. The inhibitory activities of
soaking were 15.16 mm and 14.33 mm for dry and fresh leaf extracts respectively, while that
of boiled leaves was 3.66 mm. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of eight
compounds namely; quinaldic acid, 6-O-malonylglycitin, 4-hydroxyd-2,3,4,6-
tetramethoxychalcone,9,10-anthracenedione,1,4-diamino 5nitro, jatrorrhizine cation, 7-
hydroxycoumarin-3- carboxylic acid, isovitexin, and nicergoline. Out of these eight
compounds, four were identified to have antibacterial activity. This research adds to our
knowledge of the antibacterial effects of Physalis peruviana leaf. In addition, it provides further
studies on the isolation of compounds that can be used to develop useful antibiotics against
Salmonella typhi. | en_US |
