Introduction: In Uganda, schistosomiasis (re)infections have continued to remain high despite the implementation of mass drug administration and sensitization campaigns aimed at controlling the disease. This could imply that there are some barriers to the implemented preventive measures. We conducted a mixed-methods study in Kagadi and Ntoroko districts around Lake Albert to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding schistosomiasis and to explore and understand perspectives regarding the disease. Materials and methods: Semi-structured survey questionnaires were administered to 337 household adults selected through systematic random sampling. We also interviewed 12 participants and held 28 focus-group discussion sessions with 251 individuals respectively. Quantitative data was analysed using frequencies, percentages, and chi-square tests for associations, while themes and sub-themes were used to analyse qualitative data respectively. Findings: A total of 98.5%, 81.3%, and 78.5% had heard about schistosomiasis, and knew the main transmission modes and symptoms, respectively. The majority (75.8%) said avoiding contact with water was a preventative way, while 67.5% said observing signs and symptoms was a form of diagnosis. Furthermore, 98.4% and 73.4% said it was important to defecate in latrines and to avoid contact with contaminated water respectively. However, it is difficult to avoid contact with lake water because it is the only source of livelihood, especially for fisher communities. Open defecation is commonly practiced along the lake due to insufficient space and difficulties in the construction of latrines. Myths and misconceptions reported include; lake water is safe, gassing in water causes transmission, fetching water early in the morning and from deep water is safe, and feces in the lake water act as a bait for catching fish. Conclusions and recommendations: Despite adequate knowledge of schistosomiasis and a positive attitude towards its prevention, existing myths and misconceptions, coupled with persistent risky water, sanitation, and hygiene practices still pose a challenge. A more robust community-based awareness intervention using bottom-up participatory approaches, accompanied by the provision of clean and safe water sources and increasing latrine coverage, could provide lasting solutions to these barriers.

Background. Plant-derived medicines are widespread and continue to increase in traditional and modern medicine, especially in developing countries. Physalis peruviana L. is among the most used plants in conventional medication worldwide. This review aimed to highlight the ethnotherapeutic uses and phytochemical status of identified compounds in P. peruviana. Methods. Data were collected from Google Scholar, PubMed/Medline, SciFinder, Science Direct, Scopus, the Wiley Online Library, Web of Science, and any other helpful search engine using Physalis peruviana as the primary keyword. Results. Some countries, worldwide, use P. peruviana in their traditional medicine system to manage diverse ailments, mainly diseases and gastrointestinal tract disorders (25.33). Leaf was the mostly used part (49.28), prepared by decoction (31.58) and overall administrated orally (53.57) as the main route of admission. Around 502 phytoconstituents were identified in different plant parts, especially fruit (38.19) ethanol/ethyl acetate extract. In most cases (36.17), the solvent of the extract was not specified. Several phytochemical classes were found in the plant, especially terpenes (26.09) and phenolic compounds (14.94). Esters were also abundant (11.55). In the terpenes category, carotenoids were the most abundant (11.15 followed by monoterpenes (8.76) and diterpenes (3.18). However, flavonoids (5.17) followed by cinnamic acid derivatives (3.99), monophenolic compounds (1.79), and phenolic acids (1.33M) are the most reported phenolic compounds. Hexadecanoic acid (palmitic acid) was the most cited (five times). Conclusion. P. peruviana plays an essential role in managing diseases in some countries and is rich in chemical compounds, which need to be isolated and investigated pharmacologically before clinical trials.

Human tuberculosis (TB) is amongst the oldest and deadliest human bacterial diseases that pose major health, social and economic burden at a global level. Current regimens for TB treatment are lengthy, expensive and ineffective to emerging drug resistant strains. Thus, there is an urgent need for identification and development of novel TB drugs and drug regimens with comprehensive and specific mechanisms of action. Many medicinal plants are traditionally used for TB treatment. While some of their phytochemical composition has been elucidated, their mechanisms of action are not well understood. Insufficient knowledge onMycobacterium tuberculosis(M.tb) biology and the complex nature of its infection limit the effectiveness of current screening‐based methods used for TB drug discovery. Nonetheless, application of metabolomics tools within the ‘omics’ approaches, could provide an alternative method of elucidating the mechanism of action of medicinal plants. Metabolomics aims at high throughput detection, quantification and identification of metabolites in biological samples. Changes in the concentration of specific metabolites in a biological sample indicate changes in the metabolic pathways. In this paper review and discuss novel methods that involve application of metabolomics to drug discovery and the understanding of mechanisms of action of medicinal plants with anti‐TB activity. Current knowledge on TB infection, anti‐TB drugs and mechanisms of action are also included. We further highlight metabolism ofM. tuberculosisand the potential drug targets, as well as current approaches in the development of anti‐TB drugs.