October 2022

Essential and potentially toxic trace elements in selected antimalarial plants: A pilot study in Kilembe copper mine catchment, Kasese District, Uganda

Majority of people in rural areas of Uganda and other malaria-endemic parts of the world use medicinal plants to treat the disease. This study documented medicinal plants used to treat malaria around Kilembe copper mines and assessed the presence of essential and potentially toxic elements. Household surveys and key informant interviews were carried out while anti-malarial plants were sampled, prepared and...

Author(s): Sarah Namara, Abraham R. Mwesigye and Esther Katuura

October 2022

A comparison of selected heavy metals in soils mixed with domestic and industrial sludges and assessment of effects of the sludge pollutants on oxidative stress markers of the African kale (Brassica oleracea var acephala) grown using sewage sludge manure

Sewage sludge is used as fertiliser and contains nutrients required for plant growth. It also contains contaminants that can leach into crops. The effects of sewage sludge on kale plants were investigated. Mixture ratios of 50:50 and 20:80 for soil and sludge were prepared. The soil-sludge blends were analysed for selected metal residues. Kale seedlings of 10-13 cm were planted on the different soil-sludge combinations....

Author(s): Norah Basopo, Donald Ndebele and Rumbidzai Trish Chitsa