No abstract

The initial survey aimed at assessing uses of figs in Buganda region was conducted from October 1990 to November 1991, and a follow‐up was made in 2005. A total of twelve districts were surveyed, inhabited by four major tribes with the Baganda being the majority. Oral interviews were used to collect data and respondents were either shown a freshly collected specimen or accompanied the researcher to the field. Data collected included vernacular names, uses, when medicinal part used and application. Fourteen of the 32 Ficus species recorded were used by the people. The major uses were live fencing and source of bark cloth or olubugo (Luganda) mostly from planted F. natalensis Hochst. Bark cloth adorns cultural sites, ceremonies and shrines, and is used in burying the dead and as bedding material. Its wide array of handcrafts can be seen in curios and local markets, many of these and bark cloth sheets are exported mostly to Europe. The vernacular names of species in four major languages in the region mostly related to use or simply fig trees.

Ficus species are found in all tropical habitats occurring as epiphytes or terrestrials, and dominate agricultural ecosystems as shade trees or live fencing. Ecologically, they are indicators of ground water and keystone species providing fruit for frugivores. Their pollination is highly specialized, the pollinating wasps having co‐evolved with the host Ficus species. The study was conducted in Buganda where some species are integrated in the coffee/banana agriculture as shade trees, and a source of bark cloth or ‘olubugo’, a cultural Baganda cloth. Nine districts were surveyed covering fourteen forest and five savannah reserves, 22 farmlands and pastoral areas. Methods used were transect/quadrat, belt transects, total counts and opportunistic sampling. Altogether 32 out of the 44 species known from Uganda were recorded. The majority were epiphytic forest species, six obligate epiphytes were absent in cultivation where the most terrestrial species were recorded. Epiphytes showed no host preference, but grew on the largest or most common trees. Mean densities were the highest in drier forests and wetter savanna/cultivation and species richness indices followed the rainfall gradient. Only some forests had fairly stable populations. Species present in cultivation were sometimes absent in adjacent vegetation, and all those that survived in cultivation and savanna had known uses.

The study determined the abundance and species composition of fig trees that fruited in the different forest types of Kalinzu Forest Reserve (KFR), Uganda. It also assessed the seasonal variations in abundance and species composition of the fig trees, the relationships between the fruiting patterns and rainfall and the figs' inter-and intraspecific patterns of fruiting episodes. Sixteen fig species represented by 515 individuals were monitored monthly from December 2007 to January 2010. Most individuals and species that fruited were in the secondary forest types (the Musanga-and Parinari-dominated secondary forests) and abundances of individuals of the different species were significantly associated with particular forest types. One colonizing species (Ficus sur) was the most abundant species that fruited and was mostly recorded in the secondary forests. Species composition and abundances of trees that fruited varied seasonally, and only the abundances of two canopy species (Ficus lingua and Ficus sansibarica) were significantly related with monthly rainfall. Most species experienced at least four fruiting phases, and F. sur displayed the longest episode covering 22 months. The results suggest that the past intensive logging in KFR promoted the regeneration of a diversity of fig species, and most species generally experience community-wide asynchronous fruiting. RésuméCette étude a déterminé l'abondance et la composition des espèces de figuiers qui fructifient dans les différents types forestiers de la Réserve Forestière de Kalinzu, en Ouganda. Elle a aussi évalué les variations saisonnières de l'abondance et de la composition en espèces des figuiers, les relations entre leurs schémas de fructification et les chutes de pluie et les schémas intra-et interspécifiques des épisodes de fructification. Entre décembre 2007 et janvier 2010, nous avons suivi tous les mois 515 arbres représentant 16 espèces. La plupart des individus et des espèces qui fructifiaient se trouvaient dans des types forestiers secondaires (des forêts secondaires dominées par Musanga et Parinari), et l'abondance des individus des différentes espèces était significativement liée à des types forestiers particuliers. Une espèce colonisatrice (Ficus sur) était l'espèce fructificatrice la plus abondante enregistrée dans les forêts secondaires. La composition et l'abondance des espèces d'arbres qui fructifiaient variaient selon la saison, et seule l'abondance de deux espèces de la canopée (Ficus lingua and Ficus sansibarica) était significativement liée aux chutes de pluies mensuelles. La plupart des espèces présentaient au moins quatre phases de fructification, et F. sur présentait le plus long épisode, s'étendant sur 22 mois. Les résultats suggèrent que les coupes de bois intensives qui ont eu lieu dans la RFK ont favorisé la régénération de toute une diversité d'espèces de figuiers et que, dans toute la communauté d'arbres, la plupart des espèces connaissent généralement une fructification asynchrone.

Malaria is the most lethal parasitic disease in the world. The frequent emergence of resistance by malaria parasites to any drug is the hallmark of sustained malaria burden. Since the deployment of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) it is clear that for a sustained fight against malaria, drug combination is one of the strategies toward malaria elimination. In Sub-Saharan Africa where malaria prevalence is the highest, the identification of plants with a novel mechanism of action that is devoid of cross-resistance is a feasible strategy in drug combination therapy. Thus, artemether and lumefantrine were separately combined and tested with extracts of Securidaca longipedunculata, a plant widely used to treat malaria, at fixed extract–drug ratios of 4:1, 3:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 1:4. These combinations were tested for antiplasmodial activity against three strains of Plasmodium falciparum (W2, D6, and DD2), and seven field isolates that were characterized for molecular and ex vivo drug resistance profiles. The mean sum of fifty-percent fractional inhibition concentration (FIC50) of each combination and singly was determined. Synergism was observed across all fixed doses when roots extracts were combined with artemether against D6 strain (FIC50 0.403 ± 0.068) and stems extract combined with lumefantrine against DD2 strain (FIC50 0.376 ± 0.096) as well as field isolates (FIC50 0.656 ± 0.067). Similarly, synergism was observed in all ratios when leaves extract were combined with lumefantrine against W2 strain (FIC50 0.456 ± 0.165). Synergism was observed in most combinations indicating the potential use of S. longipedunculata in combination with artemether and lumefantrine in combating resistance.