Browsing by Author "Kilonzo, Mhuji"

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    Antimicrobial activities and phytochemical analysis of extracts from Ormocarpum trichocarpum (Taub.) and Euclea divinorum (Hiern) used as traditional medicines inTanzania
    (Tanzania Health Research Users Trust Fund, 2019) Kilonzo, Mhuji; Rubanza, Chrispinus; Richard, Upendo; Sangiwa, Gidion
    Background: Medicinal plants have been of great value to human healthcare in most parts of the world for thousands of years. In Tanzania, over 12,000 species of higher plants have been reported, and about 10% are estimated to be used as medicines to treat different human health conditions. The present study aimed to determine in vitro antimicrobial activities and phytochemical analysis of Ormocarpum trichocarpum and Euclea divinorum which are commonly used as a traditional medicine in Tanzania. Methods: Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of plants extracts against tested bacterial and fungal species were determined using 96 wells microdilution method. In this method, 50 μL of nutrient and saboraud’s dextrose broth for bacteria and fungus respectively were loaded in each well followed by 50 μL of extract to make final volume of 100 μL. Subsequently 50 μL were transferred from first rows of each well to the second rows and the process was repeated down the columns to the last wells from which 50 μL were discarded. Thereafter, 50 μL of the selected bacterial and fungal suspension was added to each well thus making final volume of 100μL. The lowest concentration which showed no microbe growth was considered as MIC. The study also evaluated phytochemical compounds present in the ethyl acetate extracts from O. trichocarpum stem bark and E. divinorum root bark extract using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Results: It was revealed that 66% of the tested microbes were susceptible to plant extracts at MIC value of 0.39 mg/mL whereas 83% being susceptible to extracts at MIC value of 0.781 mg/mL. Interestingly, four out of 18 tested plant extracts exhibited high antifungal activity below that of the standard antifungal drug, fluconazole. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of various low molecular weight phytochemicals which belongs to six groups of secondary metabolites namely dieterpenes, alphatic hydrocarbons, tetraterpenes, sesquiterpenes, steroid and triterpenes. Conclusion: It was concluded that the presence of various phytochemicals in the tested plant extracts may be associated with pharmacological properties of O. trichocarpum and E. divinorum and therefore justifying ethnomedical usage of such plants.
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    Climate change mitigation through carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in community reserved forests of Northwest Tanzania
    (Agro Environ Media (AEM), 2020) Malunguja, Gisandu K.; Devi, Ashalata; Kilonzo, Mhuji; Rubanza, Chrispinus D.K.
    Forests play a key role in climate change mitigation through sequestering and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, there is inadequate information about carbon accumulation and sequestered by community reserved forests in Tanzania. A study was carried to quantify the amount of carbon sequestered in two forests namely; Nyasamba and Bubinza of Kishapu district, northwestern Tanzania. A ground-based field survey design under a systematic sampling technique was adopted. A total of 45 circular plots (15 m radius) along transects were established. The distances between transect and plots were maintained at 550 and 300 m, respectively. Data on herbaceous C stocking potential was determined using destructive harvest method while tree carbon stocking was estimated by allometric equations. The collected data were organized on excel datasheet followed by descriptive analysis for quantitative information using Computer Microsoft Excel and SPSS software version 20, while soil samples were analyzed based on the standard laboratory procedures. Results revealed higher carbon sequestration of 102.49±39.87 and 117.52±10.27 for soil pools than plants both herbaceous (3.01±1.12 and 6.27±3.79 t CO2e/yr) and trees (5.70±3.15 and 6.60±2.88 t CO2e/yr) for Nyasamba and Bubinza respectively. The study recorded a potential variation of soil carbon sequestration, which varied across depths category (P< 0.05). However, there was no difference across sites (P>0.05) and species (P>0.05) for herbaceous and trees. The findings of this study portrayed a significantly low value for carbon stocking and sequestration potential for enhanced climate change mitigation. Therefore, proper management of community reserved forest is required to accumulate more C for enhancing stocking potential hence climate change mitigation through CO2 sequestration offsets mechanism.
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    Communities’ awareness of afforestation and its contribution to the conservation of lizards in Dodoma, Tanzania
    (Nature Portfolio, 2022) Ngongolo, Kelvin; Kilonzo, Mhuji
    Afforestation is providing the remedy for deforestation, which is among the greatest challenges of biodiversity conservation in Tanzania. Efforts for afforestation are taking place in Dodoma, which are anticipated to have social and ecological positive effects. This study provides information on the perception of local communities towards afforestation and how afforestation can harbor other wildlife species like lizards. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from respondents who were chosen at random in the afforestation area. Pitfalls and direct observation under constrained time intervals were used to sample lizards in two categories of vegetation (afforested and non-afforested areas; n = 1040 samples). Awareness of afforestation was significantly affected by age group (P < 0.005) and nature of course taking. In this case, those who studied natural courses like biology, forest, and aquatic science were more aware of afforestation and they had a likelihood of being involved in afforestation programs (P < 0.05). Eight species of lizards were identified in the study area where seven species were found in afforested areas while three were found in non-afforested areas, where Agama lionotus was the dominant species. The diversity of lizards was higher in afforested areas (Shannon Weiner index H = 1.37) than in non-afforested areas (Shannon Weiner index H = 0.99). More afforestation program awareness and conservation education are required to ensure the sustainability of afforestation efforts in Dodoma. Afforestation showed a significant contribution to the conservation of lizards. Lizards can be used as good indicator species to understand and monitor the success of afforestation.
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    Influence of elevation gradient and plant species composition on soil organic carbon in Mount Rungwe Forest Reserve, Tanzania
    (Elsevier BV, 2023) Mauki, Dickson; Richard, Upendo; Kilonzo, Mhuji
    This study was conducted at Mount Rungwe Forest Reserve, Mbeya, Tanzania, East Africa to investigate the influence of elevation gradients and vegetation composition on soil organic carbon. Elevation gradients were established through three elevation grids, the higher, mid and lower elevation. We hypothesized that soil organic carbon would be richer in high plant diversity than in low plant diversity gradients. Findings from this study observed that, low elevation had high moisture content (47.72 ± 1.49) and % soil organic carbon (4.02 ± 0.56) with low bulk density (1.03 ± 0.001) and soil pH (5.96 ± 0.06). However, only moisture content, bulk density, organic matter and sand content were statistically different across elevation gradients. It was also observed the proportional decreases in diversity as elevation increases with both Shannon and Simpson index of diversity indicating higher species diversity at lower elevations (3.62 and 0.03 respectively). Results from two multiple linear regression models indicated that moisture contents, plant abundance and species diversity explained the most variation in soil organic matter across an elevation gradient with R2 = 0.4063, F (3, 38) = 8.67, p = 0.0002 and R2 = 0.3510, F (2, 39) = 10.55, p < 0.0001 for model 1 (tree abundance) and model 2 (tree diversity) respectively.
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    Quantification of Non-Timber Forest Products utilized by local communities in Nyanjange forest reserve, Morogoro, Tanzania.
    (Elsevier, 2022) Kilonzo, Mhuji
    This study was conducted to assess the types and quantity of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) used by local communities around Nyanganje Forest Reserve (NFR), which is within the Eastern Arc Mountains, Kilombero District, Morogoro, Tanzania. The study involved ecological survey in the same forest whereby sytematic sampling was established along the transect across the entire study forest. The data collected was analyzed by using Microsoft Excel, a computer software tool where the average number of woody plants per hectare was computed using recommended equations. The study identified different NTFPs which are locally utilized in a study area. These include a total of 68 plant and 13 animal species. It was further revealed that, firewood was mostly extracted due to population growth, which relies on the wood-based energy from the forests. It was concluded that NTFPs are useful in day-to-day life of the local communities surrounding NFR. Furthermore, the utilization trend could lead to the reduction of NTFPs available in the forest reserve. It is however, recommended that, for sustainability of the NTFPs in Nyanganje Forest Reserve, the Government should initiate strategic plans for the production of NTFPs in Nyanganje Forest Reserve by planting the open spaces with desirable species.