Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of 20 Essential Oils and Their Combinations on Bacterial and Fungal Strains.

Introduction: Growing antibiotic resistance is driving the search for natural alternatives, such as essential oils (EOs), which are known for their antimicrobial properties. This study evaluated the antimicrobial efficacy of 20 EOs on bacterial and fungal strains and the impact of their combinations.

Materials And Methods: Twenty EOs were selected to evaluate their antimicrobial potential in vitro.

The Status of Vitamin D in Obese Adults in Southern Morocco: a Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin found in two forms, sourced either from plants (D2) or animals (D3). Numerous epidemiological studies worldwide have highlighted its deficiency across diverse populations in various countries. When coupled with obesity, this deficiency becomes a significant global health concern.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Dengue Virus Circulation in the Rural Community, Handeni District in Tanga, Tanzania.

Dengue virus is among the most important re-emerging arbovirus that causes global public health attention. Dengue has historically been thought of as an urban disease that frequently occurs in rapidly urbanized settings. However, dengue has become more widespread in rural regions in recent years.

Food insecurity, dietary diversity and the right to adequate food among households in landslide-prone communities in Eastern Uganda: A cohort study.

We assessed food insecurity, dietary diversity and the right to adequate food among households in communities in Eastern Uganda that were affected by major landslides in 2010 and 2018. A prospective cohort study was applied to select 422 households during May-August (the food-plenty season) of 2019. In January-March (the food-poor season) of 2020, 388 households were re-assessed.

Dietary intake and socio-economic predictors of inadequate energy and nutrient intake among women of childbearing age in Karamoja sub-region of Uganda.

Background: Karamoja sub-region is the most food insecure part of Eastern Africa. The poor status of food security in the sub-region is reflected in the high rate of undernutrition among women of childbearing age (WCBA) and children under 5 years (CUFY). The sub-region is unique in Uganda in terms of cultural diversity, agro-ecology and rainfall pattern and agricultural practices.

Seasonality- and disaster effects on food variety and food insecurity coping strategies among a landslide-prone cohort.

Background & Aims: Landslides may impact on nutritional health among vulnerable populations. However, there is limited data on the seasonal effects of landslides on diet and food security. Among the 2010 and 2018 households affected by the landslides in Eastern Uganda, we assessed seasonality and disaster effects on food varieties consumed and food insecurity coping strategies.

Household Processing Methods and Their Impact on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Sweetpotato Genotypes of Varying Storage Root Flesh Colours.

Sweetpotato storage roots, peeled and unpeeled, of varying flesh colours (white, cream, yellow, pale orange, deep orange, and purple) were spectrophotometrically evaluated for their bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities. Roots were boiled, steamed, baked, fried, or microwaved. The unpeeled roots had relatively higher (p < 0.

Malnutrition and Associated Risk Factors among Children 6-59 Months Old in the Landslide-Prone Bududa District, Eastern Uganda: A Cohort Study.

Background: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2.2 calls for an end to all forms of malnutrition. This might be derailed due to persistent landslide disasters in low-income countries like Uganda.

Cup quality profiles of Robusta coffee wilt disease resistant varieties grown in three agro-ecologies in Uganda.

Background: The recently developed Robusta coffee wilt disease resistant (CWD-r) varieties in Uganda outperform the local landraces, both in yield and resilience. However, their uptake has been slow due to limited information on their cup worth. This study profiled the cup worth of the five most commonly grown CWD-r across the Lake Victoria Crescent, Western Mid-altitude farmland and Central Wooded Savannah agro-ecologies.

The Potential of Sweetpotato as a Functional Food in Sub-Saharan Africa and Its Implications for Health: A Review.

Increasing urbanization in developing countries has resulted in busier lifestyles, accompanied by consumption of fast foods. The consequence is an increased prevalence in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Food-based approaches would be cheaper and more sustainable in reducing these NCDs compared to drugs, which may have side effects.

Stakeholders' perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics needs and the requisite professional competencies in Uganda: a cross-sectional mixed methods study.

Background: Effective implementation of nutrition and dietetics interventions necessitates professionals in these fields to possess the requisite competencies for health systems performance. This study explored the stakeholders' perceptions of the community nutrition and dietetics needs, the nature of work done by graduates of the Bachelor's degree in Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND), and the competencies required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda.

Methods: A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used.

Fortified Foods Are Major Contributors to Apparent Intakes of Vitamin A and Iodine, but Not Iron, in Diets of Women of Reproductive Age in 4 African Countries.

Background: Food fortification is implemented to increase intakes of specific nutrients in the diet, but contributions of fortified foods to nutrient intakes are rarely quantified.

Objectives: We quantified iron, vitamin A, and iodine intakes from fortified staple foods and condiments among women of reproductive age (WRA).

Methods: In subnational (Nigeria, South Africa) and national (Tanzania, Uganda) cross-sectional, clustered household surveys, we assessed fortifiable food consumption.

Efficacy of Delivered Prebiotics on Growth Performance, Meat Quality and Gut Health of Kuroiler Chickens in the Face of a Natural Coccidiosis Challenge.

A study was carried out to assess the efficacy of prebiotic delivered in ovo on performance, carcass traits, meat quality and gut health in the face of a natural coccidiosis infection in Kuroiler chickens. On d 12 of incubation, 150 fertile eggs were divided into a prebiotic group injected with trans-galactooligosaccharides (Bitos) and a control group uninjected. Hatched chicks from each group were further divided: One group received antibiotic chick formula while the other was left untreated, giving rise to 4 groups-Control (C), Antibiotic (A), Bitos (B), and Bitos + Antibiotic (AB).

Child development, growth and microbiota: follow-up of a randomized education trial in Uganda.

Background: Undernutrition impairs child development outcomes and growth. In this follow-up study of an open cluster-randomized intervention trial we examined the effects of an education package delivered to mothers in rural Uganda on their children's development, growth and gut microbiota at 36 months of age.

Methods: The parental trial included 511 mother-child pairs recruited when the children were 6-8 months.

Realization of the right to adequate food and the nutritional status of land evictees: a case for mothers/caregivers and their children in rural Central Uganda.

Background: In developing countries like Uganda, the human right to adequate food (RtAF) is inextricably linked to access to land for households to feed themselves directly through production or means for its procurement. Whether RtAF is enjoyed among Ugandan land evictees, is unknown. We therefore explored this among land evictees (rights-holders) in Wakiso and Mpigi districts in rural Central Uganda.

Modelling the impact of stunting on child survival in a rural Ugandan setting.

Background: Uganda ranks among the top 10 countries in the world for newborn and child mortality rates and among the top 34 for burden of stunting. This study was conducted to model the impact of stunting on child mortality in the southwest region of Uganda where the prevalence of stunting and child mortality are of great public health concern.

Methods: The study was conducted in Buhweju district in the southwest region of Uganda.

Predictors of Stunting in Children Aged 6 to 59 Months: A Case-Control Study in Southwest Uganda.

Background: Stunting affects close to 2.4 million children in Uganda, and it is among the major contributors to the annual loss in productivity of the equivalent of US$899 million.

Objective: This study sought to identify the key underlying causes of the persistently high stunting rates in a region of Uganda known to have low poverty rates and a high agricultural output.

Nutrition, hygiene, and stimulation education to improve growth, cognitive, language, and motor development among infants in Uganda: A cluster-randomized trial.

Stunting is associated with impaired cognitive and motor function. The effect of an education intervention including nutrition, stimulation, sanitation, and hygiene on child growth and cognitive/language/motor development, delivered to impoverished mothers in Uganda, was assessed. In a community-based, open cluster-randomized trial, 511 mother/children dyads aged 6-8 months were enrolled to an intervention (n = 263) or control (n = 248) group.

Contribution of forest foods to dietary intake and their association with household food insecurity: a cross-sectional study in women from rural Cameroon.

Objective: To determine the contribution of forest foods to dietary intake and estimate their association with household food insecurity.

Design: Cross-sectional survey conducted among 279 households. Using a 7 d recall questionnaire, information on household food consumption was collected from women and used to determine the household dietary diversity score, food variety score and forest food consumption score (FFCS).

Shift in performance of food safety management systems in supply chains: case of green bean chain in Kenya versus hot pepper chain in Uganda.

Background: This study investigates the level of design and operation of food safety management systems (FSMS) of farmers and export traders in Kenya and Uganda. FSMS diagnostic tools developed for the fresh produce chain were used to assess the levels of context riskiness, FSMS activities and system output in primary production (n = 60) and trade (n = 60). High-risk context characteristics combined with basic FSMS are expected to increase the risk on unsafe produce.

Nutrients and bioactive compounds content of Baillonella toxisperma, Trichoscypha abut and Pentaclethra macrophylla from Cameroon.

Baillonella toxisperma, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Trichoscypha abut are important foods for communities living around forests in Cameroon. Information on the nutritional value and bioactive content of these foods is required to establish their contribution to the nutrition and health of the communities. Samples of the three foods were obtained from four villages in east and three villages in south Cameroon.

Assessing the status of food safety management systems for fresh produce production in East Africa: evidence from certified green bean farms in Kenya and noncertified hot pepper farms in Uganda.

The farms of fresh produce farmers are major sources of food contamination by microbiological organisms and chemical pesticides. In view of their choice for farming practices, producers are influenced by food safety requirements. This study analyzes the role of food safety standard certification toward the maturity of food safety management systems (FSMS) in the primary production of fresh produce.

The importance of using food and nutrient intake data to identify appropriate vehicles and estimate potential benefits of food fortification in Uganda.

Background: Concern over micronutrient inadequacies in Uganda has prompted the introduction of mass fortification.

Objective: To use food intake to determine nutrient inadequacies in children aged 24 to 59 months and nonpregnant women of reproductive age, and to model the adequacy of mass fortification.

Methods: Data were collected by the 24-hour recall method in three regions.

The effect of storage time and agroecological zone on mould incidence and aflatoxin contamination of maize from traders in Uganda.

A study to determine mould incidence and aflatoxin contamination of maize kernels was carried out among dealers (traders) in the three agroecological zones of Uganda. The maize kernels were categorized into those stored for two to six months or for more than six months to one year. Results indicate that the mean moisture content of the kernels was within the recommended safe storage levels of < or =15% but was significantly lower in the Highland maize kernels followed by the Mid-Altitude (dry) kernels while the Mid-Altitude (moist) kernels had the highest levels.