The Chairperson in the department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Professor Mazuru Gundidza; together with Lab. Technician Mazuru Pomerai and Pharmacy student, Kudzai Muchandibaya attended the Second International Conference on Pesticidal Plants which was held at the Elephant Hills Resort in Victoria Falls from 6-9 February. Prof. Gundidza was the Chairman of the Official Opening Ceremony held on Monday 6 February in which the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Dr Joseph Made was Guest of Honour. Professor Murray Isman of the University of British Columbia, Canada gave the keynote address on "Bridging the gap: moving botanical insecticides from the laboratory to the farm.”
The conference was attended by distinguished scientists and technologists in the fields of natural resource management, pharmacy, as well as experts from research and development institutes. It was held under the theme, "Harnessing pesticidal plant technologies for improved livelihoods, and was comprised of seven symposia under the following themes: Field Pest Management, Postharvest Pest Management, Plant Disease and Weed Control, Livestock and Human
Diseases Vectors, Soil Invertebrate Pests , Biofertilisers and Bio pesticides Technologies, Propagation and Conservation and Commercialisation, Policy and Sustainability.
The delegation from the Pharmaceutical department presented the following papers at the Conference:
Formulation of a herbal cream incorporating Pterocarpus angolenses, Adansonia digitata and Bulbinella frutescens extracts to alleviate impetigo Phabey Chaitezvi, Mazuru Gundidza and Mazuru Pomerai
Physicochemical characterisation and essential fatty acid profiling of a fixed oil extracted from Bridelia mollis seed Mazuru Gundidza, Mazuru Pomerai.
Preliminary Study on the extraction and anti-microbial activity of Phytolaca dioica seed oils Ronald Mutangi, Aljean Muzvidziwa, Munatsirei R. Mudhara, Linda Mukozhiwa, Elson Morgan, Timothy Njekete, Kudzai J. Muchandibaya, Mazuru Pomerai and Mazuru B. Gundidza.
Professor Gundidza was part of the National Organising Committee and expressed his satisfaction at the HIT performance at the conference. He also added that the conference had provided a platform for the formation of viable relationships with various key stakeholders.
