Utilization of maternal health facilities and rural women's well-being: towards the attainment of sustainable development goals.

BACKGROUND: The sustenance of any household is tied to the well-being of the mother's health before, during, and after pregnancy. Maternal health care has continued a downward slope, increasing maternal mortality in rural communities in Nigeria. Presently, few empirical findings connect maternal healthcare facilities' use to mothers' well-being in Nigeria. Using maternal health facilities and the well-being of rural women is crucial in achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, and 3 (No poverty, zero hunger, good health, and well-being). OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to examine the level of maternal healthcare utilization and its effect on mothers' well-being status among mothers in rural Nigeria. METHODS: In this study, secondary data extracted from the Nigeria's 2018 National Demographic Health Survey was used. Data was analyzed with Multiple correspondence analysis, Fuzzy set analysis, and Extended ordered logit model. RESULTS: Women in rural Nigeria were moderate users of maternal health care services and had moderate well-being indices (0.54 ± 0.2, 0.424 ± 0.2, respectively). Mothers' moderate well-being status was increased by using maternal health care facilities, having a larger household, and having mothers who worked exclusively in agriculture. CONCLUSION: We concluded that mothers in rural Nigeria use maternal healthcare facilities moderately, and their well-being level was improved using maternal healthcare facilities. Therefore, Nigeria's Ministry of Health should raise awareness about the vitality of mothers using health care services before, during, and after pregnancy. In order to promote greater female participation in full-scale agricultural production, it is imperative for the Nigerian government to allocate substantial resources in the form of subsidies and incentives. The Nigerian government should source these resources from various channels, including expanded development cooperation. Additionally, policymakers should focus on designing developmental programmes specifically tailored for rural households and the health sector.

COVID-19 induced shocks and its implications for human capital development.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has delivered an enormous shock to the global economy, triggering the deepest recession in eight decades, almost three times as deep as the 2009 global recession. Of all the nations in Africa, Nigeria remains one of the nations with a huge and significant impact on the human capital. METHODS: Hence, here we employed the recent nationally representative data from Nigeria - the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey 2020-World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study Integrated Agriculture Survey (LSMS-ISA), a harmonized dataset to explore how the COVID-19 induced shocks affected households' human capital development (using health and education outcomes). RESULTS: The results indicate that the COVID-19 induced shocks impact on both health and education in Nigeria. Interestingly, access to social safety nets had a positive association with the health and education outcomes. The study concludes that households' access to social safety nets, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic aids in the development of the nation's human capital. Therefore, effectively enhancing household's resilience and strengthening human capital development require positive and considerable innovation, maybe over a period of years. Hence, just an access to the national social safety nets programs or social programs may not be as effective as expected. Therefore, it may not be as successful as intended to just have access to national social safety net programs or social programs that contribute or transfer negligible amounts to the vulnerable recipients over short time frames.

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by indigenous knowledge holders to manage healthcare needs in children.

Childhood diseases remain an increasing health problem in many developing countries and also associated with an enormous financial burden. In South Africa, many people still rely on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. However, inadequate documentation of medicinal plants used to manage childhood diseases remain a prominent gap. Hence, the current study explored the importance of medicinal plants to treat and manage childhood diseases in the North West Province, South Africa. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted with 101 participants using semi-structured interviews (face-to-face). Ethnobotanical indices such as Frequency of citation (FC), Use-value (UV) and Informed Consensus Factor (ICF) were used for data analysis. A total of 61 plants from 34 families were recorded as medicine used for managing seven (7) categories of diseases resulting from 29 sub-categories. Skin-related and gastro-intestinal diseases were the most prevalent childhood health conditions encountered by the study participants. Based on their FC values that ranged from approximately 0.9-75%, the most popular medicinal plants used by the participants were Aptosinum elongatum (75.2%), Commelina diffusa (45.5%), Euphorbia prostrata (31.6%) and Bulbine frutescens (31.7%). In terms of the UV, A. elongatum (0.75), C. diffusa (0.45), E. prostrata (0.31), H. hemerocallidea (0.19) and E. elephantina (0.19) were the dominant plants used for treating and managing childhood diseases. Based on ICF, skin-related diseases dominated with the highest ICF value of 0.99. This category had 381 use-reports, comprising 34 plants (55.7% of total plants) used for childhood-related diseases. Particularly, B. frutescens and E. elephantina were the most-cited plants for the aforementioned category. Leaves (23%) and roots (23%) were the most frequently used plant parts. Decoctions and maceration were the main preparation methods, and the plant remedies were mainly administered orally (60%) and topically (39%). The current study revealed the continuous dependence on the plant for primary health care relating to childhood diseases in the study area. We generated a valuable inventory of medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge for child healthcare needs. However, investigating the biological efficacies, phytochemical profiles and the safety of these identified plants in relevant test systems remain essential in future research.

Do soil and water conservation practices influence crop productivity and household welfare? Evidence from rural Nigeria.

One of the most serious challenges threatening agricultural sustainability in Nigeria is land degradation. Although this issue has received little attention, soil and water conservation practices have been identified as a possible pathway out of the potential problems posed by land degradation. Therefore, the central research question that this paper tries to address is the following: Do adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices affect crop productivity and household welfare? This paper uses data collected by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) from maize farmers in rural Nigeria. We usedemploy the propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability weighting adjusted regression model (IPWRA) approach, and the linear regression with endogenous treatment effect (LRETE) model to incorporate the typologies of SWC practices, and tested how the model affects crop productivity and household welfare. Additionally, multinomial logit was used to estimate the factors influencing the decision to adopt single and multiple SWC practices. The estimates show that education, age of the household head, access to credit, experience of drought, soil fertility, and occupational stress contribute to the decision to adopt SWC practices. The casual effect estimates reveal that both single and multiple adoptions of SWC practices had a positive and significant relationship with the crop productivity and welfare of the adopters. The results show that the adoption of combined SWC practices has a higher impact on crop productivity and welfare than single SWC practices. For instance, the adoption of a combination of three SWC practices was found to increase crop productivity and household welfare by 27.55% and 38.23%, respectively versus 13.91% and 15.11% in the case of single SWC practices. The study suggests that profile-raising agenda and efforts that focus on promoting the adoption of combination of SWC practices should be designed and implemented to enhance crop productivity and hence the welfare of the maize farming households in rural Nigeria.

Can nutrition-sensitive intervention and programmes reduce household's food insecurity among the communities affected by Boko-Haram insurgency in Nigeria?

Dwindling food security situations that arose from Boko-haram insurgence experienced in the northeast of Nigeria has led to an urgent need to respond to the food and livelihood requirements of families who were affected by the conflicts in this region. This is necessary in order to enhance their food and nutritional security and livelihood activities. Thus, examining the status of malnutrition of households in the intervening communities is imperative. Therefore, primary data were collected from some selected households within the region using multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics, Dietary Diversity Score (DSS), Heckman and Tobit Models were the analytical tools employed. The study revealed that food aid constitutes an integral proportion of the total expenditure of households on food in the intervening communities. Level of malnutrition also reduces from 40.58 to 16.7% due to the impact of the sensitization programme on households' consumption of nutritious foods. However, there is still a high level of malnutrition (68.79%) among the children that are 5 years and below. Social capital formation and group-specific nutritional policy strategies directed at the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and children that are 5 years and below are panacea to reducing malnutrition in the region.

Disentangling Drivers of Food Waste in Households: Evidence from Nigeria.

Food waste is a burden on society in terms of the money wasted. There is limited information on the determinants of food waste and the amount lost to food waste by households as most previous studies were on post-harvest losses. Hence, determinants of food waste among households in Kogi West Senatorial District, Kogi State Nigeria were investigated. A three-stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents, while a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using Tobit regression and an equality test. The study revealed that food waste was higher in male headed households. The average monthly food waste proportion among urban households was significantly higher than that of rural households. The estimated amounts lost to food waste per month were ₦2103 and ₦5530 for the rural and urban households, respectively. These represented 7.2% and 13.1% of the total expenditure on food per month for rural and urban households, respectively. Among rural households, leftovers of food and lack of proper storage were the main reasons for food waste, while leftovers of food and preparation of food more than needed were the reasons for food waste among urban households. The sex of respondents, work experience, and monthly income influenced the proportion of food waste among rural households, while the dependency ratio, monthly income, and monthly food expenditure were the determinants of proportion of food waste among the urban households. Non-Governmental Organization efforts through sensitization campaigns focused on the need to reduce food waste, especially among urban households, would help to reduce the financial burden of food waste on households.

Undervalued Spiny Monkey Orange (Strychnos spinosa Lam.): An Indigenous Fruit for Sustainable Food-Nutrition and Economic Prosperity.

Strychnos spinosa Lam. is among the top nutrient-dense indigenous fruit species that are predominant in Southern Africa. It is a highly ranked indigenous fruit based on the nutrition and sensorial properties, which make it an important food source for the marginalized rural people. On the basis of the high vitamin C, iron, and zinc content, it has the capacity to improve the food- nutrition and the socioeconomic status of individuals, especially those in the rural areas of the developing nations. The nutritional composition of Strychnos spinosa compare favorably with many of the popular fruits, such as strawberries and orange. Additionally, Strychnos spinosa has antioxidant activity similar to well-known antioxidant fruits, which keeps it in the class of the popular fruits, giving it added nutrition-health-promoting benefits. In order to improve the availability of Strychnos spinosa, more research on the domestication, processing, preservation, value chain, and economic potential need to be further explored. Therefore, we recommend more concerted efforts from relevant stakeholders with interest in Strychnos spinosa fruit production as a possible sustainable solution to food shortage, food-nutrition insecurity, malnutrition, and austerity, mainly in the rural communities of the developing countries.

Clean water, sanitation and under-five children diarrhea incidence: Empirical evidence from the South Africa's General Household Survey.

Sufficient supply of potable water, hygiene facilities, and sanitation are major factors enhancing healthy living. Using the dataset from the 2018 South Africa General Household Survey, this study employed the logistic regression model to examine the effects of accessibility to potable water and sanitation on the incidence of diarrhea among under-five children. The findings from the research reveal that the majority of children have access to safe drinking water, although a substantial percentage (32%) of the households had to pay for access. The results of the logistic regression model show that households with access to clean water, to improved toilet facilities, and to water within their residence are less likely to record incidence of diarrhea among under-five children. Moreso, the likelihood of reporting diarrhea among the children decreases with the age of children and the age of household heads. Therefore, to contribute to the designing policies targeted at reducing the incidence of diarrhea among children, this study emphasized that the availability and accessibility of clean water, water-storage facilities, and improved fecal discharge facilities among the South African households are key.

Does economic shocks influence household's healthcare expenditure? Evidence from rural Nigeria.

Health is profoundly influenced by several factors outside the traditional realm of healthcare. This paper employed a two-step Heckman selectivity model to examine factors influencing the decision to spend on health and the effects of economic shocks on health expenditure. The results from the first stage shows that the likelihood of spending on health increased with age, education, income, and decreases if the household is living in the northern region of Nigeria and uses mosquito bed-net. The findings from the second stage estimation show that a fall in the price of food items, an increase in the price of inputs for household enterprises and loss of job are the significant shocks that affect household health expenditure. Based on these findings, this study concluded that fall in the prices of major food items consumed within the household increased income available for health care among the farmers. Going forward, the study recommends the provision of holistic health-economic-welfare interventions for the marginalized rural populace in Nigeria.

Marama bean [Tylosema esculentum (Burch.) A. Schreib.]: an indigenous plant with potential for food, nutrition, and economic sustainability.

Developing countries need to explore undervalued indigenous plants to fully enhance their food and nutrition security, health, and economic viability. This review explores the nutritional, phytochemical, and economic potential of marama bean (Tylosema esculentum, Fabaceae), a non-nodulating indigenous legume that can be cultivated in and is well-adapted to dry or low moisture conditions. Marama bean is popularly referred to as 'green gold' due to the considerable value derived from its above ground and underground organs. The seeds have nutritional value comparable to legumes such as groundnut and soybean. In addition, the seeds are a rich source of phytochemicals such as phenolic acids, phytosterols, flavonoids, behenic acid and griffonilide while carbohydrates are abundant in the tubers. Based on the existing literature, marama bean remains poorly explored, mainly anecdotal with limited scientific evidence available to support its nutritional and medicinal uses as well as economic benefits. This has been ascribed to a shortage of clear research goals and limited resources specifically directed to this underutilized indigenous plant. From an economic and commercial perspective, the high phytochemical content suggests the possibility of developing a functional health drink and associated value-added products. However, efficient cultivation protocols for marama bean, especially to ensure the sustainable supply of the plant material, remain crucial. Furthermore, novel approaches, especially the use of molecular techniques that can facilitate rapid selection of desired traits in marama, are recommended. These anticipated improved agronomical traits will enhance the commercial and economical potential of marama and also contribute to rural-urban food-nutrition sustainability globally.

Does agricultural cooperative membership impact technical efficiency of maize production in Nigeria: An analysis correcting for biases from observed and unobserved attributes.

The formation of agricultural cooperatives has been widely promoted as an agricultural development policy initiative to help smallholder farmers cope with multiple production and marketing challenges. Using a nationally representative survey dataset of smallholder maize producers from rural Nigeria, this study assesses the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on technical efficiency (TE). We based our estimation approach on the combination of a newly developed sample selection stochastic production frontier model with propensity score matching to control for possible selectivity biases from both observables and unobservables. We estimate stochastic meta-frontiers to examine TE differences between cooperative members and non-members. Our results reveal that TE levels of members are consistently higher than that of non-members. This calls for continued policy incentives targeted at encouraging farmers to form as well as participate in agricultural cooperatives.

Parametric assessment of household's food intake, agricultural practices and health in rural South West, Nigeria.

Food intake and health are important component of agriculture. The contribution of these duo have a lot to say about the productivity of farmers in the nations of the world. The results presented here relied on data collected on households' food intake nutrition and health profile through multistage random sampling of 420 households selected from the Southwest, Nigeria using well-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, mean) and inferential statistics (Logistic regression and Negative Binomial). The result shows that the farmers were ageing, given an average of (53 ± 11.44 years). The Logistic regression model of the effect of farming households food intake on health showed that gender of the households' head, marital states of the head, household food security and knowledge of nutrition significantly reduced the probability of reporting good health while the educational year(s) of the farmers, total cost of health and consumption of fruit increased it. In addition, the Negative Binomial Regression model, employed in the assessment of the effect of farming households' nutrition on health indicated that gender, marital status, and consumption of milk and total cost of health significantly increased day(s) incapacitated while the year(s) of education reduced it. It was therefore concluded that diversity of food intake among the farmers was low. Ageing, education and large household size among others, were also identified as major problem among the rural farmers. It was however recommended that considerable investment in human capital should be encouraged since food diversity and nutrition education enhances households' food intake and health status.

Exploring the Resource Value of Transvaal Red Milk Wood (Mimusops zeyheri) for Food Security and Sustainability: An Appraisal of Existing Evidence.

Many African countries are endowed with rich biodiversity with enormous nutritional and economic prospects, but the majority of these resources are not fully harnessed. Exploring these neglected resources, for example, the Transvaal red milkwood tree [(Mimusops zeyheri) Sond. family: Sapotaceae] is of paramount importance for food and nutritional security as well as economic prosperity. This review provides a critical appraisal of the nutritional and health benefits as well as the economic potential of Mimusops zeyheri. The plant is known for its diverse uses among rural communities. In folk medicine, the decoction from the bark and leaves of Mimusops zeyheri are used for treating wounds and ulcers, while the root is used as an infusion taken to treat candidiasis and other health issues. The nutritional profile of the fruit tree is similar to popular exotic fruits and richer in vitamin C when compared to guava and orange. Mimusops zeyheri is a rich source of vitamins, protein, and fatty acids. Based on the rich chemical pool, especially in the fruit and seeds, it has the potential to provide an accessible, readily available, and affordable enriched functional food with valuable health benefits. However, the successful exploration of Mimusopszeyheri for food security and sustainability requires multidisciplinary research. This will help achieve the envisaged food-nutrition security and poverty alleviation potential of the plant, especially among local communities.

What Drives Households' Payment for Waste Disposal and Recycling Behaviours? Empirical Evidence from South Africa's General Household Survey.

Safeguarding the environment and its citizens' health remains one of the key policy priorities of the governments of many developing and emerging countries. Using the 2017 General Household Survey (GHS) dataset, this study examines the driving factors affecting households' recycling behaviour and payment for waste disposal in South Africa. The methods of data analysis were based on descriptive statistics and a Bivariate Probit regression model. The descriptive statistics results indicate that there are 56.29% male-headed and 43.71% female headed households, with an average age of 49 years. In addition, the study shows that 89.97% of household heads had formal education with a mean monthly income of 11,099.07 ZAR/650.504 USD. The study also revealed that 22% of the households sampled had access to social grants. The results from the Bivariate Probit regression model show that household's income, access to social grants, formal educational attainment and the age of the household were significant (p < 0.01) driving factors affecting households' recycling behaviour and payment for waste disposal. The study concludes that the households' socio-economic factors affect their recycling behaviour and willingness to pay for waste management in South Africa. Actions targeted at poverty alleviation and environmental sensitization programmes are key for facilitating environmental conservation behaviours of households in South Africa in order to achieve the environmental sustainability Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of the United Nations.

Utilization Pattern of Indigenous and Naturalized Plants among Some Selected Rural Households of North West Province, South Africa.

Globally, a substantial proportion of existing indigenous and naturalized foods are often neglected thereby narrowing the food-base available to humans. The current study explored the use and contribution of indigenous and naturalized plants to the households' food-pool among 12 communities in the North West Province of South Africa. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted among 133 rural households across the 12 selected communities from the four district municipalities in North West Province, South Africa. We analyzed the utilization patterns for 31 selected indigenous and naturalized plants (grains, fruits, and vegetables) among the 133 households using two ethnobotanical indices. In reference to the checklist of 31 plants, the sampled households utilize approximately 94% (29) as staple foods, beverages, fruits and fodder. Sorghum bicolor, Vigna unguiculata, Amaranthus sp., Sclerocarya birrea, Persea americana, and Mimusops zeyheri were among the top-six plants based on the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC, 40-83%). In terms of the different crop-types, Sorghum bicolor (grain), Amaranthus sp. (vegetable), and Sclerocarya birrea (fruit) were the top-ranked plants based on the Species Popularity Index (SPI, 0.53-0.83) among the participants. Overall, there is a need for a renaissance of indigenous and naturalized plants, which has the potential to encourage rural farmers to further embrace the cultivation of these plants on a larger scale so as to enhance food security in the rural communities.

Data on the agricultural household's dietary diversity and health in the South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

Food intake remains an essential component of human health life and productivity. Poor health inextricably threaten the ability of several developing nations to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, this stubborn threat is still a major concern to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG. 2030). The economic burdens of poor nutrition and ill health in the development of African continent cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, eating a varied, well-balanced food groups daily, in the recommended amounts is important. Considering the existing malnutrition and ill health situation report in Nigeria, rural farmer's dietary diversity and health record is important for pertinent policy evaluation since these people are the principal operators of the nations' food system but yet one of the most vulnerable category of the countrie's working class. The survey that gave this dataset was conducted through a multi stage sampling technique with a well structured questionnaires with in the months of September 2014 and April 2015 from households selected from 18 randomly sampled villages. The administered questionnaires were divided in seven sections namely; respondent's socio-economic characteristics, health and environmental profile, food utilization and nutrition, requested information about respondent's agricultural labour productivity, agricultural production cost and return, cost implication of health and nutrition and dietary diversity nutrition and other problems. The questionnaires were written in English language but translated in local language during the interview for ease of understanding by the participants, the survey successfully ended with a total of 420 properly filled and captured questionaires which was quite representative. The dataset is hereby made available as it is considered vital for policy recommendations.

Data on food insufficiency status in South Africa: Insight from the South Africa General Household Survey.

Food insecurity or insufficiency, among other factors, is triggered by structural inequalities. Food insecurity is an inflexible problematic situation in South Africa. The country has a custom of evidence-based decision making, stocked in the findings of generalized national household surveys. Conversely, the deep insights from the heterogeneity of the sub-national analysis remain a principally unexploited means of understanding of the contextual experience of food insecurity or insufficiency in South Africa. The data present the food insufficiency status with special focus on adult and children. The data also reveal the adult and children food insufficiency status across the provinces in South Africa. The data contains socioeconomic and demographic characteristics as well the living condition and food security status of the households.

Dataset on the toxic effects of aflatoxin and ochratoxin a on the human gastric smooth muscle cells.

This dataset determined the effects of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) and Ochratoxin A extracted from ginger collected purposively from different retails in Mafikeng, North West province of South Africa, on the Human Gastric Smooth Muscle Cells. Hundred samples of ginger were collected and utilized for this purpose and the above mentioned toxins were extracted from the ginger, screened for on ELISA, quantified by HPLC and were exposed to the cells both individually and in combination (i.e aflatoxin and ochratoxin were combined) at different concentrations (high, moderate and low) using the human interferon beta kit. They were incubated for 12 h after which the level/concentration of human interferon produced was analyzed using the ELISA.

Comparative study of aflatoxin contamination of winter and summer ginger from the North West Province of South Africa.

The presence of mycotoxins in staple food can have adverse effect that result in ill health and associated socio-economic losses. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain fungi and can be found in staple food plants such as ginger. Ginger is a renowned medicinal plant that is extensively used for cooking and healing. However, this medicinal plant is with little information about its possible mycotoxins contamination. This study determined the occurrence and prevalence of Aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 and Ochratoxin A contamination in raw ginger sold around Mahikeng, North West Province, South Africa. Samples were collected purposively from various retailers over winter and summer. The analytical procedure optimized was based on immunoaffinity column cleanup (IAC), followed by High performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence (HPLC-FLC) detection. ELISA was also used for mycotoxin screening. On HPLC, the limits of detection and quantification for the four Aflatoxins were 3.9 × 10-7-1.4 × 10 -3 and 1.3 × 10-6 - 4.7 × 10-3 for samples collected in winter, and 3.7 × 10-7- 1.4 × 10-3, LOQ 1.2 × 10-6 - 4.6 × 10-3 for the summer samples. The average recoveries at three spiking levels ranged from 62 to 91% for the summer samples and 70-93% for those collected in winter. A linearity was observed for the analytes whose correlation coefficients were within the range of 0.9995 and 1.000 for the winter samples and 0.9995 and 1.000 for those collected in summer. The results showed that the contamination levels, especially for samples collected in summer were greater than the legally permissible limits. The t-test analysis shows that the mean and standard deviation of the four types of Aflatoxins considered were higher in summer than in winter. The findings of the study indicated that ginger, as for all agricultural commodities, are prone to mycotoxin contamination.

Ethnobotanical uses, biological activities and chemical properties of Kei-apple [Dovyalis caffra (Hook.f. & Harv.) Sim]: An indigenous fruit tree of southern Africa.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dovyalis caffra (Hook.f. & Harv.) Sim (commonly called Kei-apple) is an indigenous fruit tree that has medicinal values for various ethnic groups in southern Africa. AIM OF THE REVIEW: This review aims to provide a critical appraisal of the existing knowledge on the ethnobotanical value, biological activities and phytochemicals of Dovyalis caffra. In addition, the potential of producing a functional health product from Kei-apple due to its therapeutic effects and rich pool of phytochemicals was explored. METHODS: A detailed literature search was conducted using various online search engines, such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Mendeley and Web of Science. Additional information was sourced from ethnobotanical literature focusing on southern African flora. RESULTS: Dovyalis caffra has diverse uses in local and popular medicine, specifically for relieving pain and rheumatism in humans. Ethno-veterinary potential of Kei-apple has also been documented in East Africa. Non-medicinal uses of the tree include its role in biological hedging and as a traditional herb for African magical purpose. Regarding its biological activities, polar extracts from the seeds exhibited noteworthy antibacterial (minimum inhibitory concentration of 1 µg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus) activity. Quantitative analysis (e.g. GC-MS, HPLC) indicated the presence of a rich (>80) pool of chemicals, including sterols, phenolic acids and fatty acids from different parts of the plant while 11 compounds have been isolated from its leaves and twigs. CONCLUSIONS: Dovyalis caffra has been tested for various biological activities and the extracts (seeds in particular) demonstrated promising antibacterial potential. A lack of alignment between the ethno-medicinal uses and existing biological screenings was observed, indicting the need for anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatism potential of Dovyalis caffra to be explored. In vivo validation of antibacterial and anti-parasitic activities against clinical bacterial strains and parasites, respectively is required. Other areas that need investigation are safety evaluations and development of integrated cultivation approach in order to fully explore the plant's potential.