Browsing by Author "Chekecha, Charles"

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Community-based methods of using goldenberry (Physalis peruviana L.) for managing Salmonella typhi
(INNSPUB, 2022-08) Chekecha, Charles; Vianney, John-Mar; Mbega, Ernest
Physalis peruviana has been used for the treatment of bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and viral infections. The purpose of this study was to establish knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the ethnobotanical value of goldenberry plants in the treatment of infections. The study was conducted between April and June 2021 in five villages in the Mbeya Rural District, Tanzania. Through focused group discussion and structured questionnaires, the information was collected from 15 traditional healers and 93 household members. All data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The overall survey revealed that the leaves of the plant are used for typhoid fever treatment. The methods for plant preparation include boiling of leaves (33.3% and 29.8% for traditional healers and household members, respectively) and soaking of ground leaves in cold or hot water (66.7% and 70.2% for traditional healers and household members, respectively). Therefore, among the two methods, soaking leaves in water is preferable compared to boiling because it works better in terms of disease treatment. According to key informants, the differences in efficacy between the two methods could be due to the loss of some phytochemical compounds during boiling, which might be effective against the disease-causing agent. The differences in efficacy provide access for further research, especially in finding out which compounds might be effective against the disease might be present in Physalis peruviana leaves.
Ethnobotany and antibacterial effects of golden berry (physalis peruviana l.) on Salmonella typhi in Mbeya rural district, Tanzania
(NM-AIST, 2023-06) Chekecha, Charles
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.