Poisonous Plants Seem to Affect Livestock in the Borana, Southern Ethiopia: An Ethnic-Toxicological Approach.

Introduction: Toxic plants are plant species that cause harmful consequences to animals, including physical discomfort, decreased productivity, and death after being consumed or absorbed. Objective: The study aimed to identify toxic plants in the area, assess their consequences, identify factors causing livestock predisposition to toxic plants, and identify control and prevention methods. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2019 to June 2021 in the Dire, Dubluk, Yabello, and Moyale districts of the Borana Zone and to collect quantitative and qualitative data, a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs) were used. Results: Thus, based on qualitative analysis, 95% of participants identified harmful plants in the area that could potentially pose significant health risks to animals, out of a total of 120 individuals (46 (38.33%) females and 74 (61.67%) males) in the study area. According to the quantitative study, 31 plants in the study area were identified as toxic to livestock. Among the identified toxic plants were Pavetta gardeniifolia (23.63%), Loudetia flavida (10%), Euphorbia tirucalli (1.36%), Solanum somalense (3.2%), Eragrostis cilianensis (17.72%), Sorghum arundinaceum (17.72%), Acokanthera schimperi (4.1%), Capparis tomentosa (3.63%), and Teclea salicifolia (2.27%). The main factors that exposed livestock to toxic plants were a lack of feed combined with nutritional deficiency (73.6%), sudden ingestion with grass (98.2%), and fresh evergreen and matured attractive whole parts of toxic plants (52.6%). About 41.1% respondents indicated that animal was predisposed during the rainy season. A 42.9% of respondents replied as livestock grazed frequently in the forest area/plateau can affect and cattle (72.8%), which were the most frequently affected animals. Conclusion: The present study identified different poisonous plants for livestock and their responsible factors based on the community assessment and plant survey. Recommendations: Therefore, more intervention on the major toxic principles and phytochemistry of the identified plants must be studied.

Determents of sustainable charcoal production in AWI zone; the case of Fagita Lekoma district, Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, the trend of production and consumption of charcoal is found to be increasing in the regions' major towns and cities, particularly in Figita Lekoma district. However, little attention is given to sustainable charcoal production in the study area. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess determents to sustainable charcoal production in the Fagita Lekoma district. The study used a cross-sectional survey design for data collection and analysis as well as a purposive sampling technique to select samples from the household. The required data for the study was collected from both primary and secondary sources by employing data collection instruments such as household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. The collected data was analyzed by inferential statistics (binary logistic regression) to analyze the determinants of charcoal production and to determine whether there are any statistically significant differences between charcoal produced and non-produced in the study area. According to the survey results, the most significant challenges for charcoal production were a lack of land, improved production technology, and perception. The results of the logistic regression model reveal that age of the household head, education, and family size were found to significantly influence charcoal production at less than a 10% probability level, while perception, methods, and land holding size were significant at less than a 5% probability level. Responsible institutions and planners should focus on the effects of earth mound kilns charcoal production on environments'. Charcoal production methods should be improved, and the government should have to give attention to sustainable charcoal production to make economically viable and environmentally friendly to reduce emissions.

Effect of starter cultures on properties of soft white cheese made from camel (Camelus dromedarius) milk.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of starter cultures on the physicochemical properties, texture, and consumer preferences of soft white cheese (SWC) made from camel (Camelus dromedarius) milk. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments [starter cultures; i.e., 1 thermophilic (STI-12), 2 blended (RST-743 and XPL-2), and 2 mesophilic (R-707 and CHN-22) cultures]. Starter cultures STI-12 and RST-743 were inoculated at 37°C, whereas XPL-2, R-707, and CHN-22 were inoculated at 30°C. Camel milk inoculated using STI-12 and RST-743 cultures resulted in faster acidification than XPL-2, R-707, and CHN-22 cultures. Camel milk SWC made using STI-12 and CHN-22 cultures gave lower pH (4.54) and titratable acidity (0.59), respectively, whereas R-707 culture resulted in high cheese yield (13.44 g/100 g). In addition, high fat (20.91 g/100 g), protein (17.49 g/100 g), total solids (43.44 g/100 g), and ash (2.40 g/100 g) contents were recorded for SWC made from camel milk made using RST-743 culture. Instrumental analysis of cheese texture revealed differences in resistance to deformation in which camel milk SWC made using RST-743 culture gave higher firmness (3.20 N) and brittleness (3.12 N). However, no significant difference was observed among camel milk SWC adhesiveness made using different starter cultures. Consumer preference for appearance, aroma, taste, and overall acceptances of SWC were affected by inoculation of starter cultures. Considering curd firmness, cheese yield, compositional quality, and textures using STI-12, RST-743, and R-707, these cultures were found to be better for the manufacture of camel milk SWC.