The rhizomes of Alepidea amatymbica and A. natalensis are used for colds, coughs, asthma and abdominal cramp in tra- ditional medicine. Antibacterial (two Gram-positive: Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and two Gram-negative: Es- cherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae), antifungal (Candida albicans), anti-inflammatory (COX 1 and 2) and genotoxicity tests (Ames test) were carried out on petroleum ether (PE), dicloromethane (DCM), 80% ethanol (EtOH) and water extracts of the two Alepedia species, A. natalensis and A. amatymbica. Water extracts of A. natalensis rhizomes exhibited high activity (MIC values of 0.78 mg/ml) against the four bacterial strains. High activity was also observed in the PE and DCM leaf extract of the same plant against the Gram-positive bacteria. The PE and DCM extracts of A. amatymbica rhizomes exhibited the best activity (MIC values of 0.39 mg/ml) against Bacillus subtilis. The rest of the extracts showed low activity (MIC values N 1 mg/ml). All the extracts showed activity against Candida albicans, with A. natalensis leaf extracts exhibiting the highest antifungal activity with MIC values of 0.88, 0.2 and 0.78 mg/ml for PE, DCM and EtOH respectively. The PE and DCM extracts had high COX-1 activity with percentage inhibitions above 70%. Ethanol extracts had inhibition less than 40% for both A. natalensis and A. amatymbica. All the PE extracts showed higher COX-2 inhibitory activity than for COX-1. PE and DCM extracts both had percentage inhibitions above 70% for both COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition. The Ames test for genotoxity revealed that none of the plant extracts were toxic to the Salmonella TA98 tester strain. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2009.02.155 Establishing a tissue culture system to increase secondary metabolite production: Over-expression of geranyl dipho- sphate synthase to up-regulate production of terpenes in Salvia stenophylla H.T. Musarurwa, N.P. Makunga Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa Salvia stenophylla is known to have medicinal properties that are important in the cure of a number of skin diseases. This is largely due to the presence of essential oils, which are derived from terpenoid synthesis regulated by the enzyme geranyl diphosphate synthase. The study is aimed at improving the levels of secondary compounds of the essential oil produced by this plant by over-expressing the gene coding for geranyl di- phosphate synthase using Agrobacterium transformation. Such improvements have conservation and economical benefits as they will not only reduce wild harvesting of the plant, but also provide a basis for in vitro production of metabolites of interest. Germination in S. stenophylla seeds was investigated and seeds were subjected to four different treatments (chemical scarifica- tion, smoke extract treatment, smoke extract and scarification). The control was left untreated. Smoke-treated and scarified seeds exhibited a high germination under both dark and light conditions and had similar effect germination (P N 0.05). This suggests that S. stenophylla seed germination is depended on smoke as a germination cue and the removal of the seed coat. However, a combination of both treatments had no effect on germination (P b 0.05). Some of the germinating seeds were used to establish a tissue culture system. Upon establishment of in vitro seedlings, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with the AgGPPS2 synthase gene (Burke and Croteau, 2002) was examined using hypocotyl and cotyledon explants. The AgGPPS2 gene was sub-cloned into a pCambia vector and Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 transformation was con- ducted using standard methods. Selection of putative transfor- mants was done using kanamycin-supplemented medium and transformation was tested using PCR analysis. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2009.02.156 Galactomannan production in sugarcane callus S.G. Ndimande, J.M. Kossmann Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa Sugarcane is an ideal higher plant bioreactor, owing to its large biomass and efficient carbon fixation pathway. Through the application of biotechnology, novel value-adding products can be produced in sugarcane. This study was conducted to determine whether the galactomannan polymer from guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) can be produced in sugarcane. The expression of exogenous Mannan Synthase and Galactosyl- transferase resulted in sugarcane callus that produce the ga- lactomannan polymer. This research indicates that sugarcane indeed has great potential as a bioreactor for the production of novel products. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2009.02.157 A comparative floristic analysis of peri-urban and rural homegardens in Zululand, South Africa A.O. Nemudzudzanyi a , A.M. Zobolo a , S.J. Siebert b a Department of Botany, University of Zululand, Private Bag X101, KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa b A.P. Goossens Herbarium, School of Environmental Sciences and Development, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa The Zulu muzi (homegarden) is an indigenous knowledge system. However, there is a widely held notion that gardens of indigenous cultures are spontaneous and disorganized. This reconnaissance survey considered this by comparing peri-urban 437 SAAB Annual Meeting Abstracts