Executive Summary 1. Maize has been the recognised staple food for most Zambians in rural and urban areas. Food security policies and strategies in Zambia have therefore, remained highly biased towards maize. The danger of over-depending on maize is that its production is expensive and reliance on it alone narrows the food base, and also makes the national food security system vulnerable to dro...

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a major staple crop in Africa, Asia, and South America, and its starchy roots provide nourishment for 800 million people worldwide. Although native to South America, cassava was brought to Africa 400-500 years ago and is now widely cultivated across sub-Saharan Africa, but it is subject to biotic and abiotic stresses. To assist in the rapid identification o...

BACKGROUND Use of Manihot esculenta Crantz (MEC) plant has been mentioned in literature of Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute and many others. It is also known commonly as tapioca, continues to be a crop of food security for the millions of people, especially in the developing countries of the globe including India. Medicinal uses of this...

OBJECTIVE Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) as one of the leading nutritional problems has been increasing through time due to iodine deficiency, aggravating factors and IDD knowledge in many parts of Ethiopia. The effect of changing diet and altitude on goitre prevalence is assessed. METHODOLOGY Randomly selected five regional states (Amhara, Oromiya, Tigray, SNNP and Benshangul-Gumuz) were ...

Manihot multifida (L.) Crantz (Euphorbiaceae) is widely used in popular medicine for the treatment of infected wounds. This study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of this species against strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, known to cause infections in humans. The extracts showed minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) varying from 39 to 25...

Cassava (Munihor escuknra CrantE; Euphorbiaceae) is the only species in its genus that is cultivated as a food crop. In South America, where it originated. cassava was domesticated 2,0004,000 years B.c., yet only recently has it become distributed worldwide. The Portuguese began importing cassava into the Gulf of Guinea in Africa in the 16th century. In the 18th century, they introduced it to t...

Apomixis in cassava is formed by aposporic embryo sacs which arise from cells in nucellus or from cells in the sexual embryo sac. There is an association between sterility and apomixis. It seems that sterility caused by defected meioses triggers a specific gene for exhibiting apomixis. This apomictic mechanism is favoured by natural selection since it offers an escape from lethality and provide...

The levels of resistance in the wild species of cassava, Manihot tristis Muell-Arg. (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae), to the whitefly, Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar (Hemiptera: Alelyrodidae), the most important economic pest in cassava, Manihot esculenta Crantz (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae) crops in South America, were estimated under glasshouse conditions. The parameters of the life history of ...

Abelmoschus esculentus (Malvaceae), Hibiscus acetosella (Malvaceae), Manihot esculenta Crantz (Euphorbiaceae) and Pteridium aquilinum (Dennstaedtiaceae) leaves are currently consumed as vegetables by migrants from sub-Saharan Africa living in Western Europe and by the people in the origin countries, where these plants are also used in the folk medicine. Manihot leaves are also eaten in Latin Am...

OBJECTIVES To describe the potential risk factors, clinical features, biochemical and radiological features, and management of chronic calcific pancreatitis. DESIGN Cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING Tertiary care general hospital. PATIENTS Fifty patients with pancreatic calcification referred to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, and 50 age-matched controls from healthy relativ...