A new study by Joseph Nguta, whose work toward his PhD is funded through the Carnegie Corporation of New York-supported Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE), documents medicinal plants that are traditionally used to treat malaria by Kenya’s Msambweni community on the country’s south coast, where the disease is endemic.
The paper, in the March issue of Journal of Ethnopharmacology,results work conducted by Nguta at the University of Nairobi, a research center within the African Natural Products Network (RISE-AFNNET), one of five RISE networks. The paper titled Antimalarial herbal remedies of Msambweni, Kenya was co-authored with four other researchers from University of Nairobi.
In the face of rapid population growth, loss of agricultural lands, and insufficient human capacity, RISE-AFNNET works to develop Africa’s rich biodiversity into a natural products industry of social and economic significance. Building on an already active research network of 10 member countries, RISE-AFNNET expands existing research programs and formalizes educational activities in such natural products fields as engineering, biochemistry, environmental science, pharmacology, economic development and nutrition. Students work on natural products research projects in the context of poverty alleviation, gender equity, and Millennium Development Goals.
