Hannington Oryem-Origa

Makerere University · Department of Biology

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Malaria is among the most prevalent and devastating parasitic diseases globally with most cases reported in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the major reasons for the high malaria prevalence is the ever-increasing emergence of resistant strains of malaria-causing parasites to the currently used antimalarial drugs. This, t...

Introduction: In Uganda, many people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) use untested herbs for therapy Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-HIV-1 activity of selected plant species. Methods: Twenty-two 22 plant extracts were tested against HIV-1 Pseudovirions (PV) HXB2 (IIIB) strain in using the human glioblastoma cell line; U87.CD4.C...

Introduction: Many people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Uganda widely use herbal medicines. However, their toxicity and safety have not been investigated. The use of these plants can potentially cause harmful effects to the health of patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the cytotoxicity of some commonly used medicinal plant specie...

Introduction: Despite concerns about toxicity, potentially harmful effects and herb-drug interactions, the use of herbal medicines remains widely practiced by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Uganda. Objective: The objective of the paper was to comprehensively review the literature on the toxicity and chemical composition of commonly used med...

This Data in Brief article provides supplementary information to or earlier Ethnobotanical survey on medicinal plants used by traditional medicine practitioners to boost the immune system in people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda [1]. We identified 71 medicinal plant species from 37 families and 64 genera. The data were analysed using descriptive st...

In Uganda, herbalists widely used medicinal plants for treating people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). Different species are mainly used to treat the opportunistic infections that characterise the disease. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in eight districts of Arua, Dokolo, Mbale, Bushenyi, Iganga, Rakai, Luwero and Kaabong in different parts o...

Data on medicinal plants used to boost immunity in people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Regeneration of heavy metal-polluted and heavy metal-degraded sites has remained a global challenge despite the existence of numerous conventional physico-chemical techniques that can be applied. In view of the large size of the degraded areas and the cost implications, the application of the inexpensive “green” and sustainable technique of phytore...

Six plant species commonly used as nutraceuticals from Nebbi district in northwestern Uganda Erythrococca bongensis, Grewia trichocarpa, Leptadenia hastata, Nymphaea lotus, Oxygonum sinuatum and Talinum portulacifolium) were analysed for their nutritional content. The plants were selected mainly because of their high frequency of use as food and me...

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal properties of selected wild nutraceutical plants from Nebbi district in Uganda. Study Design: Experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, An...

Description of study site The study area comprised of the pyrite trail in Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area (QECA) located at the geographical coordinates of latitude 0° 8'53.03"N, longitude 30° 4'27.53"E and altitude of 949 meters above sea level and the four tailings dams in the vicinity of Kilembe Town area located at latitude of 0°11'16.12"N, l...

During the operation of the Kilembe Mines (copper mining) a cobaltiferous stockpile was constructed, which began to erode after the closure of the mines in the early 1970s. The erosion of the pyrite stockpile resulted in a large acid trail all the way to Lake George (a Ramsar site). The acid trail contaminated a large area of Queen Elizabeth Nation...

An ethnobotanical study was carried out in four parishes in the Ngai and Otwal Sub Counties in Oyam district, Northern Uganda, where insurgency has been prevalent for the past 20 years. Documenting medicinal plant species used in treating various health conditions among the local people. Information was obtained from mainly the local population, th...

Biological technologies for wastewater remediation techniques employed to remove contaminants in urban stream water are increasingly receiving attention worldwide. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the concentrations of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, manganese and iron in algal biomass and establish the feasibility of using algae i...

Water quality monitoring in developing countries is inadequate, especially in stream water affected byurban effluents and runoff. The purpose of this study was to investigate heavy metal contaminants in the NakivuboStream water in Kampala, Uganda. Water samples Nakivubo Channelized Stream, tributaries and industrial effluentsthat drain into the str...

Globally, aquatic ecosystems are highly polluted with heavy metals arising from anthropogenic and terrigenous sources. The objective of this study was to investigate the pollution of stream sediments and possible sources of pollutants in Nakivubo Channel Kampala, Uganda. Stream sediments were collected and analysed for heavy metal concentration usi...

The impact of waste disposal on trace metal contamination was investigated in eleven wetlands in the Lake Victoria Basin. Samples of soil, water and plants were analysed for total Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni concentrations using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The trace metal concentrations in soil were the highest in Katanga wetland with the high...

This study examines the regeneration of indigenous tree species in the formerly encroached area in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP), south‐western Uganda. Before gazetting in 1992, MGNP had basically been agricultural land for well over 50 years. The distribution of exotic vegetation was established using a Geographical Positioning System rece...

In Uganda, bacterial and fungal infections are prevalent especially, the sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Because of low socio-economic empowerment, traditional beliefs and cultural barriers, the suffering people resort to use of herbal remedies in search of cure especially for rural women who rarely discuss/disclose diseases affec...

Wetlands in Uganda experience different forms of human pressure ranging from drainage for agriculture and industrial development to over harvesting of wetland products. In order to develop sustainable management tools for wetland ecosystems in Uganda and the Lake Victoria Region, water quality analyses were carried out in a rural undisturbed (prist...

Abstract The usage of medicinal plants in childbirth in Uganda is a long standing tradition. Over 80% of Ugandan women have childbirth at home and herbal remedies are administered to complete the process of childbirth. The herbs are administered to hasten the labour process (oxytocics), expulsion of retained placenta and control postpartum bleeding...

The impact of waste disposal on trace metal contamination was investigated in eleven wetlands in the Lake Victoria Basin. Samples of soil, water and plants were analysed for total Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni concentrations using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The trace metal concentrations in soil were the highest in Katanga wetland with the high...

Tree abundance and species composition in the mechanically logged, intensively pitsawn and minimally disturbed areas of Kalinzu Forest Reserve were determined. The spatial and diameter size-class distribution of ten selected tree species representing pioneer, secondary colonizer, understorey, canopy, dominant and endangered species were also assess...

Gynaecological morbidity is one of the most severe conditions under reproductive health. Healthcare providers and planners in Uganda have not taken it seriously among rural communities. This study was carried out mainly to document indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by traditional healers in the treatment of some gynaecological morbidity...

The effect of amended acidic pyrite sediments on the germination and establishment of seedlings and vegetative plant propagules of some selected plant species was investigated. The results from this study indicate that the pH values of the pyrite trail ranged from 1.6 to 3.5. Seed germination of all plant species except Bidens pilosa L. was not pos...

Traditional medicine usage in rural Ugandan population for day-to-day health care needs is close to 90%. Women and children form the bulk of the people reliant on herbal medicine. This study was undertaken to document how ethnomedical folklore aids childbirth in rural western Uganda by conducting field surveys, discussions and interviews with the r...

The relationship between traffic density and trace metal concentrations in roadside soils, surface films, and a selected vegetable weed, Amaranthus dubius Mart. Ex Thell., was determined in 11 farming sites along major highways around Kampala City in Uganda. Surface soil, atmospherically deposited surface films on windows, and leaves of Amaranthus...

Nakivubo wetland, located on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, separates the city of Kampala from the Inner Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria (the sole raw water supply for Kampala). It provides tertiary treatment for the secondary effluent from the Bugolobi sewage treatment works, and heavily polluted wastewater (run-off, domestic and industrial...

The utilisation of ethnobotanical indigenous knowledge is vital in male sexual reproductive health care delivery in western Uganda. Reproductive health care is the second most prevalent health care problem in Africa. However, this concept of reproductive health care has been focusing mainly on women disregarding men. Thus, some diseases such as sex...

The growth of wild robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Froehner) seedlings was monitored on the forest understorey in Kibale National Park. Various aspects of seedling growth were measured from plots with three different levels of ground vegetation cover. Coffee seedling growth was influenced by the three different treatments. For instance, the remova...

Coffee fruit production, frugivorous activities and seed longevity were investigated during two seasons. The average densities of fruiting coffee trees during the first sampling period ranged from four to seven per 25 m2 and during the second sampling period, four fruiting trees per 25 m2 were estimated. Fruiting coffee trees were significantly les...

The spatial and temporal variations in species composition and abundance of trees that fruited in mechanically logged, intensively pit-sawn and essentially undisturbed forest areas in Kalinzu Forest (0°17′S, O°30′S and 30°00′, 30°07′E) were assessed. The duration and frequency of fruiting episodes of selected pioneer, understorey and canopy tree sp...

A study was carried out in compartments of Budongo Forest Reserve that had either been harvested by pit-sawyers since 1994 or left relatively undisturbed. Timber extraction trails were used to identify and locate seventy gaps. Regeneration was assessed by enumeration of diameter size classes of Khaya anthotheca in 280 plots established in the gaps,...

A study of the regeneration of an Afromontane forest was carried out in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP), southwestern Uganda, following agricultural encroachment in the last 50 years. The landscape was changed by terracing and removing the indigenous vegetation and replacing it with exotic tree species. This study also examined the soil nutri...

An investigation of soluble calcium partitioning in organs of the water hyacinth growing along the shores of L. Victoria, bordering Jinja town was carried out. The levels of Na ⁺ , K ⁺ , Mg ²⁺ and Ca ²⁺ in the lake water were also estimated. The pH and electrical conductivity of lake water were determined. There was a differential accumulation of C...

Survival of wild robusta coffee ( Coffea canephora ) seedlings on the forest understorey in Kibale National Park was monitored and analyzed in response to a number of mortality factors, such as fungal diseases, herbivory, desiccation, trampling, and litter of other plant species. A comparison was made with wild coffee seedlings germinated in the la...

The effects of heat treatment and fire on seed germination of Acacia sieberiana D.C. and Acacia gerrardii Benth. were studied. Dry heat and fire were studied separately. Seeds treated with dry heat were set to germinate in petri-dishes under laboratory conditions. Other seeds were planted in plots at the Uganda Institute of Ecology, Mweya, which we...

The effects of cell size and number on the distance from the root tip to phloem inception in groundnuts have been investigated. The roots were treated with a number of plant growth regulators having a wide range of effects on the growth rate. Increasing the growth rate of roots increased the distance of phloem initiation and lignification from the...

Over 80% of pregnant women in Western Uganda deliver at home with the assistance of mainly traditional birth attendants who use herbal remedies to complete the processes of child bearing in the rural communities. In Uganda, complications resulting from reproductive health related conditions such as maternal mortality and morbidity (20.4%) account f...