Paediatric ailments (PAs) pose an increasing health and economic challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. In Tanzania, over 80% of the rural population relies on traditional medicine for primary healthcare. Although documentation of medicinal plants (MPs) used to treat and manage PAs remains fragmented, this systematic review consolidates evidence on MPs used by Tanzanians to address these conditions. A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library and Wiley Online Library) and grey literature sources, using predefined keywords related to PAs and MPs. The search covered publications from 1982 to 2024 and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Data from 34 ethnobotanical studies were analysed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel. A total of 146 MPs from 54 families were documented, with Fabaceae (10.9%) and Asteraceae (8.9%) the most frequently used families. Approximately 59.6% of MPs were collected from wild ecosystems, while 15.8% were sourced from cultivated ecosystems. The analysis of recipes shows that leaves (52.1%) and roots (39.0%) are the preferred parts, with shrubs (46.0%) the dominant life form. 63.0% of the MPs have shown positive pharmacological effects, while 37.0% lack scientific evidence but may offer potential remedies. Of the recorded MPs, 80.8% were native, and 19.2% were introduced and used to treat 51 PAs in the country. The data from this review substantially enhance the literature on MPs for paediatric diseases and can aid the development of new pharmaceutical products to reduce child mortality.

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Globally, food and medicinal plants have been documented, but their use patterns are poorly understood. Useful plants are non-random subsets of flora, prioritizing certain taxa. This study evaluates orders and families prioritized for medicine and food in Kenya, using three statistical models: Regression, Binomial, and Bayesian approaches. An extensive literature search was conducted to gather information on indigenous flora, medicinal and food plants. Regression residuals, obtained using LlNEST linear regression function, were used to quantify if taxa had unexpectedly high number of useful species relative to the overall proportion in the flora. Bayesian analysis, performed using BETA.INV function, was used to obtain superior and inferior 95% probability credible intervals for the whole flora and for all taxa. To test for the significance of individual taxa departure from the expected number, binomial analysis using BINOMDIST function was performed to obtain p -values for all taxa. The three models identified 14 positive outlier medicinal orders, all with significant values ( p p p p < 0.05). Anacardiaceae (5.163) had the highest R-value, while Fabaceae had the highest (28.72) regression residuals. This study presents important medicinal and food taxa in Kenya, and adds useful data for global comparisons.

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Taita Hills forests are an ecological island within the Tsavo plains and are the northern-most part of the Eastern Arc Mountains in southeast Kenya. They are highly fragmented forests embedded in a mosaic of human settlements and farms on the slopes and hilltops. Despite their intensive degradation, they exhibit a high degree of plant diversity and endemism, and therefore are regarded as a biodiversity hotspot. In spite of their distinct importance to the biodiversity of the region as well as supporting the livelihoods of the surrounding communities, floristic studies in these hills have been finite. Through repetitive floral expeditions, herbarium records from the East African Herbarium (EA), Global Biodiversity Information (GBIF), and the Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigbio) databases, as well as plant lists from literature and monographs, we provide a comprehensive checklist of 1594 taxa representing 159 families, 709 genera, 1530 species, 39 subspecies, 27 varieties, and 2 hybrids. Out of these, 75 are endemic or near-endemic, 59 are exotic, and 83 are listed as either endangered or near endangered as evaluated in the IUCN Redlist. Zehneriatuberifera G.W.Hu & Q.F.Wang, a new species to science, which has previously been described, was also discovered from the Ngangao forest fragment. Information on the habit(s), habitat(s), and altitudinal range of each taxon is provided in this study. This checklist is an updated inventory of the vascular plants of the Taita Hills. It confirms the high plant diversity of the hills and provides a clear baseline for strategic conservation and sustainable management of plant resources and diversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

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Covering: 1990 to 2015The clerodane diterpenoids are a widespread class of secondary metabolites and have been found in several hundreds of plant species from various families and in organisms from other taxonomic groups. These substances have attracted interest in recent years due to their notable biological activities, particularly insect antifeedant properties. In addition, the major active clerodanes of Salvia divinorum can be used as novel opioid receptor probes, allowing greater insight into opioid receptor-mediated phenomena, as well as opening additional areas for chemical investigation. This article provides extensive coverage of naturally occurring clerodane diterpenes discovered from 1990 until 2015, and follows up on the 1992 review by Merritt and Ley in this same journal. The distribution, chemotaxonomic significance, chemical structures, and biological activities of clerodane diterpenes are summarized. In the cases where sufficient information is available, structure activity relationship (SAR) correlations and mode of action of active clerodanes have been presented.

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Objective To identify the antimicrobial components present in Microglossa angolensis following fractionation of the methylene chloride extract of the aerial part of this plant. Materials and methods The plant was dried and extracted by percolation with methylene chloride. The dry extract was fractionated and purified by silica gel column chromatography. The isolated compounds were identified by comparison of their Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectral data with those reported in the literature. Antimicrobial activity was assayed by broth macro dilution method. Results The crude extract of M. angolensis displayed significant antifungal and antibacterial activities (MIC = 312.50-1250mug/ml). 6beta-(2-methylbut-2(Z)-enoyl)-3alpha,4alpha,15,16-bis-epoxy-8beta,10betaH-ent-cleroda-13(16),14-dien-20,12-olide and spinasterol were the most active compounds (MIC = 1.56-100mug/ml) and the most sensitive microorganisms were Enterococcus faecalis and Candida tropicalis for bacteria and yeasts respectively. Conclusion The isolation of these active antibacterial and antifungal principles supports the use of M. angolensis in traditional medicine for the treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders.

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