ABSTRACT
The present study was conducted at Mpanga Research Forest located in Mpigi District, Uganda, during the months of March, April, May and Jun 2020 (for the first rainy season) then in September, October, November, and December 2020 (for the second rainy season) to determine the diversity and distribution of macrofungi as well as their influence by seasonality, and physicochemical properties of the soil. An inventory was carried out through plot sampling and survey which consists of installing three permanent plots of 30 m x 30 m in each of the four selected sites, the soil was also measured in the sample plots. To measure distribution and diversity, abundance, species richness, density, and Simpson's and Shannon's indices were calculated. SPSS version 20 software was used for the significance tests of the diversity parameters between the two rainy seasons and for those of the correlation between the soil factors and the abundance of macrofungi species. A total of 120 species of basidiomycetous macrofungi distributed in 53 genera and 22 families were recorded. The dominant genus was Psathyrella followed by Marasmius belonging to the most dominant families (Coprinaceae and Marasmiaceae), and the most dominant orders (Agaricales and Tricholomatales). During the two rainy seasons, the majority of the species that have been collected belong to the group of saprophytes. Macrofungi species collected during the second rainy season were more abundant and diverse than those collected during the first rainy season. Among the physicochemical properties of the soil, pH, calcium, potassium, nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorus, clay, sand and organic matter were significantly correlated with the abundance of macrofungal species. The results of this study provided basic information on the diversity of macrofungi in Mpanga forest, it can be a point of reference for further research to study the evolution of macrofungal biodiversity in this forest.
ABSTRACT
This study focused on the documentation of wild macrofungi species used by village communities living around Mpanga Forest in Mpigi District, Central Uganda. In order to determine the variability of knowledge and the modes of use of macrofungi by the local communities, a total of 100 people, distributed in 4 villages (Kalagala, Nakigudde, Mpambire, and Lwanga) including 25 people in each, were interviewed following a semi-structured survey. The information focused on vernacular names, different species of macrofungi used, different categories of uses (food, medicinal, commercial, mythical, and traditional beliefs), Seasonality, habitat, preservation, and preparation methods. The diversity of macrofungi was assessed by combining visits in Mpanga forest and ethnomycological surveys. Ethnomycological indices such as Total Use Value (TUV), Diversity Index (DI), Pielou Regularity Index (EI), and Sorensen's K test were calculated to analyze the use differences between the 4 village communities. To determine the influence of age, gender and literacy level on the mycological knowledge held by village communities, one-way ANOVA and t-tests were used. The field collections associated with the ethnomycological surveys made it possible to identify a total of 35 species useful for the local communities among which, 29 are edible, 14 are medicinal, 5 are used for income and 4 are used for mythical and traditional beliefs. Due to their higher total use value (TUV>1), species such as Leucoagaricus rubrotinctus (Ggudu), Termitomyces sp.1 (Bubbala) and Termitomyces sp.2 (Nakyebowa) are the most exploited by local communities. The study revealed that ethnomycological knowledge is held by a minority of respondents (IE<0.5) within each village community, a consistency homogeneity of this knowledge within this minority (DI<DImax/2), but high variability in the use of macrofungi between village communities as indicated by TUV values ??and Sorensen's K test. The study also shown that the distribution of mycological knowledge of local communities was significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by gender, age and level of education. The results of this study provided information that could, in the future, be used in the domestication of wild macrofungi species and in mycomedecine to contribute to food security and improve public health care.
ABSTRACT
Aims: To determine the immunomodulatory effect of aqueous extracts of Auricularia sp and Pleurotus sp mushrooms using an immunosuppression animal model. Study Design: Pre-clinical experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Health Sciences and Division of Pharmacology, Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Makerere University, between August 2010 and December 2011. Methodology: A total of 80 Wistar rats divided into 8 groups (n=10) were used in the experimental study. Cyclophosphamide (10mg/kg) was administered orally (p.o) to fifty (50) Wistar rats in the first 5 groups for 28 days. In addition, rats in Group I received distilled water, groups II & III received 300mg/kg & 600mgkg of Auricularia sp extract respectively and Groups IV &V received 400mg/kg & 800mg/kg Pleurotus sp extract respectively. Wistar rats in Group VI received only 300mg/kg Auricularia sp extract, group VII received 400mg/kg Pleurotus sp extract and Group VIII received only distilled water. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 14 and 28 to determine the total and differential WBC counts. Data is presented as mean±SEM and analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by a student’s t-test for statistical significance. Mean values are compared with initial values and the control group (Group VIII). Results: No mortality of Wistar rats was observed over the 28-day experimental period. Cyclophosphamide though caused statistically significant (p<0.05) reduction in total WBC on day 14 and 28 compared with day 0 in control group from 11.26±0.59 on day 0 to 6.11±0.41 day 14, & 4.12±0.22 on day 28. Lymphocytes and Neutrophil counts were also significantly reduced in control group by day 28 compared to mushroom extract treated rats. Results show that aqueous extracts of Auricularia sp & Pleurotus sp mushrooms significantly (p<0.05) moderated the reductions in total & differential WBC on day 14 and 28 as compared to the control group. The mushroom extracts also increased total and differential WBC in normal rats as compared to the normal group (Group VIII). Conclusion: Aqueous extracts of Auricularia sp and Pleurotus sp mushrooms moderated cyclophosphamide-induced reduction in WBC in Wistar rats indicating potential benefit in chemotherapy induced immunosuppression. Application of these mushrooms in immune suppression research appears to be new as reflected in the literature. These are however preliminary data to be more completely documented by further experiments, possibly investigating also some aspect of immune cell functions (e.g. cytotoxicity or cytokine production).