Mini-dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban Institute of Technology, Durban, 2002. / The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Sutherlandiafrutescens 30 CH on healthy individuals so that it may be prescribed according to the law of similars. It was also the purpose of this study to compare all existing indications of use of Sutherlandia frutescens to the proving symptomatology. This would allow a greater understanding of the plants spheres of action and would contribute to the formation of a comprehensive remedy picture by highlighting similarities and differences between the homoeopathic and traditional indications of use. The comparison also served to investigate whether Sutherlandia frutescens acts, in accordance with the fundamental law of homoeopathy, the law of similars, in traditional application. It was the intention of the study to shed light on the possible 'homoeopathicity', or not, of current traditional use of Sutherlandia frutescens, as opposed to overt pharmacology of phytochemicals. It was hypothesized that Sutherlandiafrutescens 30CH would produce clearly observable signs and symptoms in healthy provers. The second hypothesis was that the proving symptomatology of Sutherlandia frutescens 30CH would be similar to the existing indications of use. The homoeopathic proving was a double blind placebo controlled study conducted by four Master's in Technology: Homoeopathy students. A total of 24 subjects formed the proving group, 25% of whom (6 of the 24) were randomly assigned to the placebo group. The subjects were unaware of the substance they were proving and the potency of the substance to be proven. The provers also served as intra-individual controls by recording their state prior to the administration of the remedy, to provide a baseline for comparison after the administration of the remedy. Provers took one powder three times daily until proving symptoms appeared, but for no longer than 2 days i.e.: a maximum of 6 doses. Provers recorded their symptoms daily in a journal and were in / M

M.Sc. / Africa's cycads (66 species and 2 subspecies in two endemic genera: Encephalartos and Stangeria) are extremely endangered with four species extinct in the wild and 80% threatened (CR, EN, or VU) with all included in CITES Appendix 1. Although South Africa has some of the world’s strictest cycad legislation, these plants are still under threat from illegal collection for horticulture and medicine especially where they are seized in an unidentifiable condition. Currently developed legislation demands accurate identification for permit issue. Ex situ conservation of genetic and locality based diversity is paramount. Furthermore, taxonomically many species of unknown origin are difficult to identify especially when diagnostic characters are absent. Species delimitation and numbers are uncertain with field observations often contradicting current understanding. DNA barcoding can assist with all the above-mentioned scenarios. In the current study all proposed DNA barcoding regions (matK, rbcLa, psbA-trnH, and nrITS) along with several additional regions were tested on ~350 samples from which a phylogeny of 63 of the 65 Encephalartos species was also constructed. Results show general good amplification and sequencing success of proposed barcoding regions, although a shift to specialist primers was made in several cases. Genetic variation however was extremely low as is resolution at species level, even when multi-locus barcodes were employed. Results obtained from the phylogenetic analyses show an increase in resolution at both species and higher levels compared to previous work and as such several new groupings are delimitated. Each species grouping is characterised by shared, derived morphological, ecological, and geographic characters and when compared to previous phylogenetic studies are supported to some extent. The current study provides the first step towards a much-needed monograph and revision of the entire genus Encephalartos.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 110 p. : ill. (some col.), col. map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Douglas W. Tallamy, Dept. of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-106). Also available via World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 14, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Botany)) - Rhodes University, 2007.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 33-43). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Biotechnology, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Dichrostachys cinerea, Carpobrotus dimidiatus, Capparis tomentosa and Leonotis leonurus are all plants that are indigenous to South Africa. These plants are used in traditional medicine to treat various ailments. However, there is little or no scientific data to justify these traditional uses. Furthermore, it is difficult to reconcile traditional knowledge with scientific evidence because of the overwhelming targeting of signal-responsive systems by plant defensive compounds, multiple sites of action and the connectedness of the signaling pathways, which provide many cures and have pleiotropic effects. In order to evaluate the action spectrum of these plants, and validate its widespread use, this research evaluated the antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-mosquito and immunomodulatory properties of these plants. Antimicrobial activity of the extract was determined by evaluating the bactericidal and fungicidal action using the agar disc diffusion assay. Anti-oxidative properties of the extracts were tested using the DPPH photometric assay. Anti-inflammatory properties were carried out using the 5-lipoxygenase assay. The larvicidal, repellency and insecticidal assay was determined against A.arabiensis. The safe use of these plant extracts was determined by evaluating toxicity, a brine shrimp lethality assay and an in vitro cell culture system using human myelogenous leukemia cell line. Potential carcinogenic activity was evaluated using the Ames Salmonella Mutagenecity assay. The immunomodulatory activity of the extracts on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells 6 was evaluated on freshly harvested lymphocytes using the MTT assay. Cytokine response was evaluated by measuring the secretion of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10. Elucidation of the B cells, T cells, activated T cells, CD 4+, CD 8+ and NK cells was performed by flow cytometry. The extracts showed anti-microbial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella oxytoca, Salmonella typhimurium, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus cereus and Tricoderm sp. The highest activity was shown by methanolic and aqueous extracts of L. leonurus leaves followed by methanolic and aqueous extracts of D. cinerea. Extracts of C. tomentosa and D.cinerea demonstrated a higher degree of free radical scavenging than rutin, which was used as a standard indicating that these plants have strong antioxidant properties. None of the plants showed significant anti-inflammatory activity when compared to NDGA. In the anti-mosquito assays, the extracts showed strong repellency and insecticidal activity. L. leonurus extracts demonstrated the highest insecticidal and repellency activity against the mosquito, and was also found to cause ‗knockdown‘ and mortality. The extracts display no toxicity, cytotoxicity and mutagenicity. The immunological studies for immune modulation showed that the methanol extracts of these plants induce a Th1- predominant immune response because they significantly suppressed the secretion of IL-10 and augment IFN-γ production, which are hallmarks used to indicate a stimulation of the innate immune response. This study also provides new information, with respect to the potential use of these plants in producing a mosquito repellent and an immunostimulant. / National Research Foundation