Samuel Baker Obakiro

Busitema University · Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Objective: Many studies on the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) using herbal medicines have been undertaken in recent decades in East Africa. The details, however, are highly fragmented. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the reported medicinal plants used to manage TB symptoms, and to analyze scientific reports on t...

Background Irrational prescription of drugs can lead to high cost of treatment thus limiting access to essential medicines. We assessed the affordability and appropriateness of prescriptions written for diabetic patients in Eastern Uganda. Methods We collected secondary data from the health management information system registers of patients who a...

Background: Whereas the efficacy of Entada abyssinica (fabaceae) extracts against various ailments has been scientifically validated, its safety has not been established. This study was undertaken to evaluate the toxicity effects of methanolic stem bark extract of E. abyssinica on biochemical, haematological and histological parameters of Wistar al...

Objectives To evaluate the antibiotic prescription patterns of health workers in Eastern Uganda and more specifically whether they are not in accordance with the Uganda standard treatment guidelines and other indicators of appropriate antimicrobial drug prescription. Method Data on variables of the patients was obtained from the health management...

Background: Academic examination retakes are significant challenges in health professions education. With rigorous clinical assessments, limited training resources and high-stakes examinations, students struggle to meet academic requirements which cab result in retakes. This study aimed to assess the proportion of medical and nursing students with...

Background: Academic examination retakes are significant challenges in health professions education. With rigorous clinical assessments and high-stakes examinations, many students struggle to meet academic requirements, resulting in retakes. The voices and experiences of such students have often been absent within the broader discussion of health p...

Organic (acetonic, chloroform, methanolic and hexanic) extracts of Entada abyssinica stem bark were screened for their antimycobacterial, cytotoxicity and phytochemical profiles. Microplate Alamar Blue and MTT assays were used to establish the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts against Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium t...

Albizia coriaria (Fabaceae) crude extracts are key ingredients of several licensed and unlicensed herbal products in East Africa. However, there is limited and often contradicting information regarding its toxicity. We therefore evaluated the acute and subacute toxicity of the ethanolic stem bark extract of A. coriaria in mature healthy Wistar albi...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a collection of metabolic disorder that is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. Recent studies have demonstrated the crucial involvement of oxidative stress (OS) and inflammatory reactions in the development of DM. Curcumin (CUR), a natural compound derived from turmeric, exerts beneficial effects on diabetes mellitus t...

Diabetes mellitus (DM), a chronic metabolic disorder associated with hyperglycemia and other complications, is one of the five priority non communicable diseases of global interest with unprecedented rise in developing countries. Whereas, the current treatment with insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents is aimed at managing the hyperglycemia and asso...

Uterine Fibroids (UF) also known as uterine leiomyomas are a significant reproductive health challenge among the female population, globally. Apart from surgery which has several complications, many available pharmacological therapeutic options reduce symptoms rather than being curative. The use of Polyscias fulva for the management of UF by Tradit...

Background Evidence suggests use of herbal and conventional medicines in the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). We examined factors associated with caregivers’ use of combined herbal and conventional medicine to treat children with SCD. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital between January and March...

Background Malaria remains the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. Although recent developments such as malaria vaccine trials inspire optimism, the search for novel antimalarial drugs is urgently needed to control the mounting resistance of Plasmodium species to the available therapies. The present study was conducted to document ethnobo...

Background: The rates for the delayed initiation of breastfeeding in Uganda remain unacceptably high between 30% and 80%. The reasons for this are not well understood. We aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors for the delayed initiation of breastfeeding in Eastern Uganda. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design. A t...

Background The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in management and prevention of HIV/AIDS epidemic is a globally accepted strategy. In Uganda, despite the efforts to increase uptake of ART, adherence remains a huge challenge. This study, therefore, was conducted to explore psychosocial factors which influenced non-adherence to ART among young ad...

The search for novel therapies for tuberculosis continues due to the emergence of resistant strains, adverse drug reactions, and potential drug-drug interactions of antitubercular drugs. This study was undertaken to identify compounds from Entada abyssinica, a plant used by herbalists in East Africa for the management of symptoms of tuberculosis. A...

Background: Evidence suggests that caregivers of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) normally oscillate between the use of herbal and conventional medicines but little evidence exists on the prevalence of and factors associated with use of both therapies in the extant literature. We examined factors associated with caregivers’ use of combined h...

Background Fear of anticipated side effects has hindered the COVID-19 vaccination program globally. We report the uptake and the self-reported side effects (SEs) of the COVID-19 vaccine among Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Mbale City Eastern Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional survey of HCWs at seven different level health facilities was conducted fro...

Background Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Though 30% of cancers can be treated when detected at early stages, their treatment has been compounded by resistance of tumor cells to anticancer drugs, side effects of the therapies, high treatment costs and limited access to medical services. In Africa, and particularly in the...

Background: Crassocephalum vitellinum is widely used by traditional medical practitioners and local people in East Africa to manage a large number of ailments including hepatitis 1. However, its hepatoprotective effects had not been evaluated prior to this study. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an ethanolic leaf extract of Crasso...

Background: Albizia coriaria Welw ex. Oliver (Fabaceae) is one of the plants used by herbalists in the East Africa community to prepare herbal remedies for the management of symptoms of TB. Despite its widespread use, the antimycobacterial activity of this plant was uninvestigated and there was contradicting information regarding its cytotoxicity....

Background The rates for the delayed initiation of breastfeeding in Uganda remain unacceptably high and reasons for this are not well understood. We aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors for the delayed initiation of breastfeeding in Eastern Uganda. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional study design. A total of 404 mother-infant...

Background. Many studies have been undertaken on the medicinal values of Erythrina abyssinica Lam. ex DC. (Fabaceae). The details, however, are highly fragmented in different journals, libraries, and other publication media. This study was therefore conducted to provide a comprehensive report on its ethnobotany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemicals,...

Objectives To explore the experiences and views of healthcare professionals on antibiotic prescription in Eastern Uganda. Methods This was an exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Participants included 16 healthcare professionals from Mbale and Soroti Regional Referral Hospitals. Additionally, two workshops were held, one...

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance patterns of bacterial isolates from inpatients and outpatients in Mbale and Soroti regional referral hospitals in Eastern Uganda. Methods: A retrospective analysis of culture and antibiotic sensitivity test results from the microbiology laboratories of the...

Aflatoxins are endemic in Kenya. The 2004 outbreak of acute aflatoxicosis in the country was one of the unprecedented epidemics of human aflatoxin poisoning recorded in mycotoxin history. In this study, an elaborate review was performed to synthesize Kenya’s major findings in relation to aflatoxins, their prevalence, detection, quantification, expo...

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Although TB affects all people, those living with HIV/AIDS are at a higher risk of developing active TB. TB is ranked among the ten (10) diseases of global concern. In East Africa community (EAC). Kenya and Tanzania are still ranked among the 30...

Globally, there has been an increase in natural products research in the last two decades and Erythrina abyssinica (Fabaceae) is among those medicinal plants that has been widely researched on. E. abyssinica is among the highly ranked important medicinal plants in the East African region. Many surveys have documented that this plant is harvested by...

Erlangea tomentosa (Asteraceae) is used traditionally in the preparation of herbal remedies for management of several diseases including pain and inflammation. However, its efficacy and safety have not been scientifically validated. The aim of this study was to investigate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the aqueous leaf ext...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The disease is especially important because of increasing drug resistant strains and co infection with human immune virus (HIV) and acquired immune disease syndrome (AIDS). Because of this there is need to identify new leads that can...