Johnstone Ingonga

• Technologist at Kenya Medical Research Institute

Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, remains a significant public health concern in many tropical and subtropical regions. The limited treatment options necessitate exploration of new therapeutic agents. This review analyses the antileishmanial potential of bioactive components extracted from various plants collected across different region...

Aim: The efficient mushroom production involves many factors of which spawn production, culture methods and substrate selection are of prime importance. The research has, therefore, been carried out to standardize these aspects in present communication, for production of Pleurotus florida Strain-P1. Materials and Methods: Various cereals (maize, oa...

Background The sandfly, Phlebotomus duboscqi is a vector of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) that is an important public health problem in Eastern Africa. Repellents have been used for protection of humans against vectors of ZCL and other vectors that transmit killer diseases including malaria, Rift Valley fever, dengue, and yellow fever. The...

Aims: To evaluate the Ovicidal and larvicidal effects of Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) extracts on Phlebotomus duboscqi. Study Design: A comparative experimental design using extracts obtained from the leaf and bark of Ricinus communis plant. Study Site: Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development (CBRD),...

Background: Medicinal plants have been of great importance to many traditional communities for many generations. However, there is need to carry out scientific studies in order to confirm the medicinal properties of many plants used traditionally. Carissa edulis Forskk. (Gentiales: Apocynaceae) used by local communities for the treatment of various...

Despite advances to targeted leishmanicidal chemotherapy, defies around severe toxicity, recent emergence of resistant variants and absence of rational vaccine still persist. This necessitates search and/or progressive validation of accessible medicinal remedies including plant based. The study examined both in vivo and in vitro response of L. majo...

The efficacy of the essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus and Tagetes minuta in causing mortality in adults of the sandfly Phlebotomus duboscqi was tested in a laboratory bioassay. The effect of the oils on oviposition by female sand flies was also evaluated. Each essential oil (EO) extract was tested at graded concentrations of 0.125; 0.250; 0.500...

The cytotoxicity and an in vitro antiamoebic effect of Senna didymobotrya (Irwin Fresen) were studied. 300g of crushed S. didymobotrya was isolated in several solvents namely Dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, hexane and water extracts. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and IC 50 of the extracts in comparison with metronidazole were...

Anti-amoebic effects of crude root extracts of Senna didymobotrya against Entamoeba histolytica infecting caecum of mice were studied. Caecal amoebiasis was induced by injection of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites directly into the caecum. Mice were treated orally with dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol total, methanol successive, hexane, w...

Sand flies are small haematophagous insects that transmit Leishmania parasites. Infection with Leishmania parasites results in diseases known as leishmaniases which can be grouped into three main forms: cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniases. The CDC light trap is the standard surveillance technique used to determine sand fly densities...

ABSTRACT Medicinal plants play an important role in the treatment of various illnesses in Kenya and the whole world. Senna didymobotya is one of such plants used traditionally in Kenya to treat illnesses such as diarrhea, malaria, ringworm, jaundice and intestinal worm. The main aim of this study was to analyze the phytochemical composition of the...

Solanum acueastrum Dunal. has been shown to have some chemotherapeutic value. Leaf and berry water and methanol compounds of S. acueastrum were evaluated for possible antileishmanial activity In vivo on BALB/c mice and in vitro against Leishmania major promastigotes, amastigotes and vero cells. Dry S. aculeastrum berry and leaf material were extrac...

Leishmania major is a protozoan parasite responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in humans. CL is transmitted via a bite by infected female phlebotomine sand fly. Research on herbal therapy for leishmaniases is increasing globally because conventional drugs are costly, toxic and require a prolonged administration. In vitro and in vivo antileis...

Our current understanding of the host immune response during leishmaniases largely derives from studies performed in mice due to the intrusive techniques required to study infected human patients. Swiss mice are highly resistance to Leishmania infections in concordance with observed response in humans while BALB/c mice indicate a high susceptibilit...

Most natural host populations are exposed to a diversity of parasite communities and co-infection of hosts by multiple parasites is commonplace across a diverse range of systems. Co-infection with Leishmania major and Schistosoma mansoni may have important consequences for disease development, severity and transmission dynamics. Pentavalent antimon...

Human leishmaniases are a spectrum of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In this study antileishmanial activity of the methanolic and water leaf extracts from Aloe secundiflora plant were analysed by determining the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), nitric oxide (NO) production stimulation, infection rates (IR) an...

Background & objectives: Leishmaniasis is a growing health problem in many parts of the world. Efforts to find new chemotherapeutics for leishmaniasis remain a priority. This study was carried out to determine the effect of combination and monotherapies using plant extracts and herbicides on Leishmania major infection in BALB/c mice. Methods: Th...

The use of vector-derived antigens has become widely acknowledged as a possible answer to vaccination against vector borne diseases. Sand fly saliva is one such vector-derivative that has been targeted for vaccine development, either alone or in combination with other antigens. Previous studies have suggested a synergistic protective effect accruin...

Several plant products have been tested and found to possess antileishmanial activity. The present study was undertaken to establish whether methanolic extract of Allium sativum Linn has antileishmanial activity in comparison to standard drugs. Methanolic extract of A. sativum bulbs was screened for in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activity aga...

ObjectiveTo determine the adjuvant potential of artemisinin with a soluble leishmanial antigen in vaccinating BALB/c mice.MethodsSeventy two female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned into six groups. The mice were vaccinated with soluble leishmania antigens (SLA) alone, artemisinin co-administered with SLA, SLA and Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) vac...

Indigenous rural communities in the tropics manage parasitic diseases, like malaria and leishmaniasis, using herbal drugs. The efficacy, dosage, safety and active principles of most of the herbal preparations are not known. Extracts from 6 selected plant species, used as medicinal plants by indigenous local communities in Kenya, were screened for i...

The antileishmanial activity of extracts of Warburgia ugandensis Spraque (Canellaceae), a known traditional therapy in Kenya was evaluated in vivo. Treatment of infected BALB/c mice with W. ugandensis extracts orally resulted in a reduction of the size of lesions compared to the untreated control. The lesion sizes differed significantly for the fou...

The antileishmanial activity of extracts of Warburgia ugandensis (family Canellaceae), a known traditional therapy and one of the commonly used medicinal plants in Kenya was evaluated. Extracts of this plant were tested for possible antileishmanial activity in vitro. Different doses of hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of...