Browsing by Author "Ueitele, Isabella S."
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Item Ethnomycology of indigenous trametes mushrooms from northern Namibia(University of Namibia, 2017) Ueitele, Isabella S.; Kadhila-Muandingi, Nailoke P.; Chimwamurombe, Percy M.To date there is no documented data available on the Namibian indigenous Trametes mushrooms. The objective of this study was therefore to generate information for the first time, on the ethnomycology of Trametes species in Northern Namibia. A questionnaire was used and the data captured were analysed in SPSS. Results show that 83.9% of respondents included in this study knew Trametes mushroom but only 70.4% used it for medicinal purpose. Indigenous Trametes mushrooms in Namibia are mostly used as a tranquiliser to calm bereaved people who are crying hysterically at burials. Other uses include treating cattle from lung disease. These uses for Trametes species have not been reported before in literature.Item Exploring various promising green strategy for recycling spend mushroom substrate through desktop research analysis(Juniper Publishers, 2021) Horn, Lydia; Ueitele, Isabella S.; Nghifewa, MathewDisposal of waste generated after the harvesting of mushrooms is one of the major problems in mushroom cultivation industries. There is an urgent need for a technology that produces high-value products from the spent mushroom substrate. This need came as a result of a huge amount of spent mushroom substrate produced by the edible mushroom industry which is on an increase in many countries around the world. If not well maintained, spent mushroom substrate could cause major environmental problems which are already felt in many mushroom-producing countries. Most problems reported are associated lack of knowledge for treatment and disposal of the spent mushroom substrate. Available information has revealed that many potential agricultural and industrial uses of the spent mushroom substrate include fertilizer manufacturing, animal feed, compost for soil enrichment, treatment for coal mine drainage, bioremediation, enzyme extraction, and novel bio-sorbent. This review aims at outlining some important techniques used in making use of the biological and agricultural waste emanating from mushroom growing activities around the world. The review aims at availing some possible initiatives on reducing environmental waste through zero disposal of mushroom production waste while at the same time utilizing low-value materials to produce value-added products and generate income.Item Ganoderma research activities and development in Namibia: A review(Asian Journal of Mycology, 2021) Ueitele, Isabella S.Medicinal mushrooms have provided a natural source of bioactive compounds since ancient times. Ganoderma is such a mushroom, which has worldwide recognition as a medicinally important mushroom. In this review, the authors provide a detailed summary of indigenous Ganoderma research in Namibia, looking at the ethnomycology, biological activity, physicochemical properties, food quality and safety, as well as cultivation of this mushroom. In this paper, all available records of Ganoderma research in Namibia were retrieved from the University of Namibia Institutional Repository with the keyword “Ganoderma”. Ten theses and four peer reviewed articles with a total of 10 authors and 12 subjects, including ethnomedicinal plants, domestication, active compounds, medicinal and AIDS were reviewed. The main objective of this review is to guide researchers on the direction for future research and product development of Ganoderma in Namibia. The literature review highlights the potential to establish research and development activities of indigenous Namibian Ganoderma species. The study identifies an important knowledge gap on Ganoderma research, such as the complete morphological and molecular description of species, regulation and standardization of metabolites and characterization of novel compounds identified in indigenous Namibian Ganoderma. The domestication and cultivation of medicinal and edible mushrooms provide an excellent opportunity to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of promoting good health and well-being (SDG 3), nutrition (SDG 2: Zero Hunger), and income generation (SDG 1: no poverty).Item Minerals and trace elements in domesticated Namibian Ganoderma species(2015) Mhanda, F.N.; Kadhila-Muandingi, Nailoke P.; Ueitele, Isabella S.Edible and medicinal mushrooms are regarded as the ideal health foods. They are well appreciated for their exquisite taste and flavor and are consumed both fresh and in processed forms. Nutritive value of mushrooms is attributed to their high content of essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and low lipid content. Regular consumption of whole medicinal and edible mushrooms could introduce a functional or medicinal contribution within the individual’s diet. Medicinal mushrooms may prevent or treat "lifestyle-related diseases". The extent of the health beneficial effect will depend on the level, regularity of consumption, the relevance of medicinal mushrooms and concentrates to the particular disease. The minerals and trace elements in domesticated Namibian Ganoderma mushroom species were determined. The results show that fiber content was found highest with 45 g/100 g of dry weight, followed by calcium with 23 g/100 g, carbohydrate with 23 g/100 g, protein with 18.2 g/100 g, iron with 6.41 g/100 g, copper with 4.3 g/100 g while the least were zinc (2.89 g/100 g) and fat (1.9 g/100 g). The presence of these essential nutrients, which are nutritional requirements of human beings, implies that Ganoderma can be a valuable dietary supplement to boost the immune system and improve general health of people. It was therefore concluded that the domesticated Ganoderma has significant amount of nutrients that makes it a good fungus to be used on daily bases for health benefit.Item Molecular phylogeny of Trametes and related genera from northern Namibia(2018) Ueitele, Isabella S.; Chimwamurombe, Percy M.; Kadhila-Muandingi, Nailoke P.Trametes Fr. is widely characterized as a polyporoid cosmopolitan genus which is presented in almost any type of forest environments. It is characterized by a combination of pileate basidiocarp, porous hymenophore, trimitic hyphal system and thin-walled basidiospores which do not react in Melzer’s reagent. Dry polypores were collected from Northern Namibia and identified as Trametes species based on morphology. Molecular analysis of Internal Transcribed Spacer region 1 (ITS 1) and Internal Transcribed Spacer region 2 (ITS 2) of the collected material revealed inconsistency with morphological identification. The phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the Neighbour Joining method and reliability for internal branches Assessment was done using the ML bootstrapping method with 500 ML bootstrap replicates applied to 44 unpublished sequences and sequences from GenBank database. Only specimens such as D1-D9, D11 and D13 and specimens F1, I2-I4 and K3-K6 were grouped in the trametoid clade together with Trametes species. Furthermore, the position of Trametes trogii (also known as Coriolopsis trogii) was confirmed to be outside the trametoid clade and more closely related to Coriolopsis gallica. The close relationships of Pycnoporus and Trametes were confirmed by grouping of Pycnoporus sanguineus in to trametoid clade. Alignment with GenBank sequences revealed identity to Trametes species with up to 99%. These results suggest that it is better to keep a single generic name of Trametes for the trametoid clade.Item Optimization of indigenous Ganoderma lucidum(University of Namibia, 2014) Ueitele, Isabella S.; Chimwamurombe, Percy M.; Kadhila-Muandingi, Nailoke P.Ganoderma lucidum is a mushroom which shows antitumor, anti-inflammatory and cytoxic activity and grows prolifically in warm climates on decaying hardwood logs and stumps. An experiment was done at the University of Namibia to cultivate the indigenous G. lucidum; however, compared to results from other countries the mushroom took much longer to grow. The objective of this study was to shorten the cropping cycle of the indigenous G. lucidum under cultivation at the University of Namibia. The indigenous mushroom was cultivated according to the established protocol. A suitable indigenous Ganoderma mushroom was selected to make tissue culture, which was used to make the spawn that was inoculated into the woodchips substrate. New ideas were introduced to induce fast growth and optimum yield. The grains were inoculated with more pieces of tissue culture; the substrate was inoculated with increased layers of spawn and mixed with pearl millet husk instead of wheat bran to accelerate the colonization of the substrates. In addition to the hanging bag method used in the previous study, the buried wood log method was also introduced. Temperature and moisture were closely controlled during the experiment. A major highlight of this study was the significant reduction (p < 0:05) in the time it took for the substrate to reach fruiting stage. The substrate mixed with pearl millet husk was completely colonized by the mycelia, two weeks faster than the substrate that was mixed with wheat bran. Since Pearl millet is readily available in Northern Namibia, individuals and communities can substitute the wheat bran with pearl millet husk, which allows the substrate to be ready for fruiting faster, thus shortening the cropping cycle and also reducing the production cost as they no longer have to purchase wheat bran. The buried wood logs did not yield any fruiting bodies, but the hanging bags did produce G. lucidum. The study was successful in producing fruiting bodies in a shorter period. There was no significant improvement in the yield obtained.Item Phylogenetic and mycochemical characterization of Trametes species from Northern Namibia(University of Namibia, 2016) Ueitele, Isabella S.The objectives of this study were to confirm for the first time, the identity of Trametes mushrooms from Northern Namibia and then to generate information on local uses and bioactive compounds of these Trametes species. To achieve this, samples were collected from Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshikoto and Oshana regions and identified as Trametes species based on morphological features. These were a basidiocarp with concentric zones, brown, tan or grey colour and pores from 2-3 pores/mm to pores slightly bigger than 1 mm in diameter and lack of a pileus. TLC visualization reagents were used to identify compound groups in the hot water and organic extracts. The resulting chromatogram showed nine compounds separated in total and indicated presence of flavonoids, alkaloids and triterpene saponins. The disc diffusion method was used in bioassays of the extracts dissolved in DMSO and water. The highest zone of inhibition was 12 ± 1 mm by the DCM extract on Escherichia coli. The lowest inhibition observed was 9.7 ± 2.08 mm by the DCM extract on Bacillus subtilis. Interestingly, no inhibition was observed for the methanol and HWE extracts. These results differ from previous studies which reported that all organic extracts of Trametes were active against B. subtilis. A questionnaire was used to obtain indigenous knowledge of Trametes mushrooms in Northern Namibia. Questionnaire data analysed in SPSS revealed that 83.9 % of respondents in this study knew Trametes mushroom but only 70.4 % used it for medicinal purpose. The most common medicinal use of this mushroom was to calm bereaved people crying hysterically at burials and also to treat lung disease in cattle. The results from this study are novel since they have not been reported in literature before. Finally, fungal DNA was extracted and PCR performed with ITS1/ITS2 primers before sequencing. BLAST searches revealed that specimen collected were 99 % identical to Trametes polyzona. A phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the Neighbour Joining method in MEGA version 6. The specimens collected from Northern Namibia were distributed in 6 clades mainly alongside Trametes species, Truncospora and more distantly Coriolopsis species. These results are consistent with previous works which agree that there is a close relationship between the genera Trametes, Coriolopsis (polyzona) and Pycnoporus.