M Mosango’s research while affiliated with Makerere University and other places

The East African plant Rubus apetalus Poir. was collected as a component of an ethnobotanical survey in southern Uganda. No phytochemical investigations of this plant have been found in the literature. Preliminary antimicrobial susceptibility tests performed in Uganda indicated biological activity against several bacterial and one fungal human pathogen. Bulk re-collection of Rubus apetalus was accomplished and crude extraction performed in preparation for further testing. Two chemical fractions of the crude extract were active in the antimicrobial susceptibility assay. Fractionation of one of the active crude fractions led to the isolation and elucidation of a mixture of related compounds that exhibit antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC=62 microg/ml), Streptococcus faecalis (16 microg/ml) and Candida albicans (32 microg/ml).

Continuing field interviews brought the total species used for disease treatment by herbalists of the majority Baganda Tribe of southern Uganda to 168. Literature searches provided support for the ethnomedical claims for a number of these species, and provided criteria for the species classification into four categories of use validation. They also helped guide the selection of species for recollection, for chemical extraction and further testing in laboratories of the Uganda Ministry of Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Many species proved active against microorganisms in several susceptibility assays conducted in Uganda and the US.

A floristic study was carried out on terrestrial weed species of Kampala (Uganda). The aim of the study was to identify weed species, to determine their life forms and their phytogeographical distribution and to compile a checklist. An inventory was made throughout the man-made habitats of Kampala and voucher specimens were collected and deposited at the Herbarium of the Department of Botany of Makerere University (MHU). Three hundred and thirty-one species, belonging to 204 genera and 64 families, were identified. The most important families are Asteraceae (45 spp.), Poaceae (44 spp.) and Papilionaceae (33 spp.). Most of the species are therophytes (38.7%) and of pantropical distribution (48.9%). /// Un inventaire floristique des plantes adventices a été réalisé à Kampala en Ouganda. Cette étude avait pour objectif d'identifier ces espèces, de définir et de discuter leurs types biologiques et phytogéographiques. Un herbier de référence a été constitué et conservé à l'Herbarium du Département de Botanique de l'Université Makerere (MHU). Au total, 331 espèces ont été identifiées. Elles sont réparties en 64 familles et 204 genres. Les familles les plus importantes sont: Asteraceae (45 espèces), Poaceae (44 espèces) et Papilionaceae (33 espèces). Parmi les types biologiques, les thérophytes forment le groupe le plus important (38,7%). Le spectre géographique, par contre, est dominé par des espèces pantropicales (48,9% du total).

A phytosociological study of a community dominated by Talinum paniculatum in Kampala, Uganda, was carried out in 1998. This plant community grows in cultivated and ruderal areas, especially under shade, during the rainy season. A total of 78 species was recorded, most of them annual, anemochorous and widespread. This community is characterized by two different strata: the upper one, about 10-30 cm high, composed mainly of Talinum paniculatum; and the lower one, about 0-10 cm high, comprised of many different plant species. The Talinum paniculatum community has been described as a new association. Talinetum paniculati ass. nov., belonging to the Bidention pilosae Lebrun alliance in Mullenders 1949 which comprises plant communities occuring in cultivation, postcultivation and ruderal habitats.

One-hundred four plant species used medicinally by herbalists from three southern Ugandan tribes were collected and identified. The collection includes a large portion of the materia medica of the Abayanda of the southwest region, as well as species used by herbalists of the Baganda and Bakiga Tribes. Literature searches were performed in preparation for further collections, and for collaborative laboratory validation of in vitro antimicrobial activity. Literature data provide support for ethnomedical claims for a number of species used in Uganda for disease treatment.