The information provided in this article are excerpts from the research of medicinal plants carried out at the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica, between 1948 and 2001. The data is organised as listed in the following tables but will be presented in two (2) separate parts.
Table 1: Organisms used for testing bioactivity of plant extracts and natural products.
Table 2: Summary of plants that exhibited the most medicinal bioactivity.
Table 3: Summary of plants that exhibited the most agricultural bioactivity.
Table 4: Natural products isolated from plants tested at UWI between 1948 and 2001.
Table 5: ‘Medicinal’ plants of Jamaica studied at the University of the West Indies, Mona – family, botanical name, common name, growth range, growth.
Table 6: ‘Medicinal’ plants of Jamaica studied at the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona – Research conducted between 1948 and 2001, and literature reference.
Below you will find tables 1 to 4.
Medicinal Plants of Jamaica and Their Uses – Part 1
| Bioactivity potential | Test organism | Reason for choice | Method used and literature source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antihelminthic potential Anti-bacterial | Strongyloides stercoralis Streptococcus group A Staphylococcus aureus Proteus mirabilis Pseudomonas aeruginosa E. coli E. coli | Human intestinal nematode Pathogens of widespread occurrence in infections treated at UHWI, Jamaica | Bioassay using infective larvae Disk diffusion method (45) |
| Streptococcus group A Streptococcus group B Streptococcus group D Staphylococcus epidermis Staphylococcus aureus Salmonella spp 1,2 | Human pathogens | Disk diffusion method (46) | |
| Mycobacterium tuberculosis | Tuberculosis pathogen | Tested by Tuberculosis Antimicrobial Acquisition and Coordinating Facility, Southern Research Institute, Alabama. (47) | |
| Antifungal | Candida albicans Candida krusei Microsporum gypeseum Trichophyton mentagraphytis | Human pathogens | Disk diffusion method (48) |
| Insecticidal potential | Trilobium confusum Adults | Spray 10% concentrate under a Potter’s tower (49) | |
| Cylas formicarius | Sweet potato weevil | (50, 51) | |
| Exophthalamus vittatus | Citrus root weevil | Lab conditions (16) | |
| Hypothenemus hampei | Coffee berry borer | Spray under Potter’s Tower (16) | |
| Plutella xylostella | Diamondback moth of of cabbage | Applied topically to third instar larvae (16) | |
| Oomyzus sokolowakii | Adult parasite of cabbage moth | Exposed to film of extracts (16) | |
| Aedes aegyptii | Mosquito larvae | Test sample applied topically at 100 ppm conc (52) | |
| Acaricidal potential | Boophilis microplus Engorged ticks | Ticks affecting cattle industry | Tested mortality, inhibition of oviposition, inhibition of embryogenesis, acaricidal index (AI) (14, 50) |
| Nematocidal activity | Meloidogyne incognito Rotylenchulus reniformis | Plant pathogenic nematodes | Organic admendments to soil - count eggmasses and galls on roots (53) |
Antihelminthic potential = potential to kill parasitic worms of humans including flukes, tapeworms and nematodes; Anti-bacterial = potential to kill bacteria; Insecticidal potential = potential to kill insects including mosquitoes; Acaricidal potential = potential to kill mites and ticks; Nematocidal activity = potential to kill nematodes; Antifungal = potential to kill fungi, numbers in parentheses are the reference numbers. |
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Table 2: Summary of plants that exhibited the most medicinal bioactivity
| Bioactivity | Plant |
|---|---|
| Pharmacological | Justicia pectoralis (2.fresh cut), Achyranthes indica (3. devil’s horse whip), Bromelia pinguin (30. ping wing), Cinnamodendron corticosum (45. mountain cinna- mon), Cannibis sativa (46. ganja), Carica papaya (49. papaya), Momordica charantia (83. cerassee), Sechium edule (84. cho-cho), Euphorbia hirta (95.), Hyptis verti- cillata (106. John Charles), Abutilon trisulcatum (123.), Azadirachta indica (130. neem), Artocarpus altilis (135. breadfruit), Trophis racemosa (139. ramoon), Petiveria alliacea (159. guinea hen weed), Peperomia clusifolia (161.), Piper amalgo var nigrinodum (165. pepper elder), Eryngium foetidum (212. spirit weed), Jatropha gossypiifolia (226. belly-ache bush) |
| Antihelminthic | (76.), (112.), Mimosa pudica (134. shame-mi-lady), (135.), (212.) |
| Diabetes | Anacardium occidentalis (5.cashew), Spondias dulcis (7. June plum), Catharanthus roseus (12. periwinkle), Bixa orellana (21. annatto), Symphytum officinale (26. Comfrey), Cassia alata (35. king of the forest), (46.), Mikania micrantha (64. guaco), (83.), Cocus nucifera (146 coconut), Capsicum baccatum (204. bird pepper), Capsicum frutescens (205. pepper) |
| Fungicidal | (45.), (130.), (161.), (165.), Piper betle (167.), Piper murrayanum (170.) |
| Mosquitocidal | (45.), Peperomia proctorii (163.), (165.) |
| Antibacterial | Cordia brownei (22. black sage), Cassia jamaicensis (36. Jamaican broom), Haematoxylum campechianum (39.logwood), (64.), Veronia pluvalis (72.), (83.), Rytidophyllum tomentosum (99. search me heart), Ocimum basilicum (109. sweet parsley), (110.), (130.), Coccoloba krugii (174.), Lantana camara (217. white sage), Lippia alba (221. colic mint) |
Numbers in bold are plant reference numbers (PRN) as listed in Tables 5 and 6; Plant names in bold are endemic plants.
Table 3: Summary of plants that exhibited the most agricultural bioactivity
| Bioactivity | Plant |
|---|---|
| Insecticidal | Ervatamia divaricata (13. coffee rose), Cleome viscosa (48. wild caia), Eupatorium odoratum (62. Jack-in-the-bush), Cuscuta americana (76. dodder), Dioscorea polygonoides (85. wild yam), Croton linearis (91. rosemary), (106.), (130.), (135.), Bontia daphnoides (140. kidney bush), Piper aduncum (164.), Piper fadyenii (168.), Piper hispidum (169.), Piper verrucosum (171.), Cycloptis semicordata (175. fern), Capraria biflora (196. goat weed), Capsicum annum (203. pepper), Nicotiana tabacum (207. tobacco) Eucalyptus spp. (227.) |
| Acaricidal | (13.), (26.), Ricinus communis (98. castor oil), Ocimum micranthum (110. wild parsley), Salvia serotina (112. chicken weed), Spigelia anthelmia (118. worm grass), Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (125.), (130.), (175.), Blighia sapida (192. ackee), Simarouba glauca (200. bitter damson), Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (224. vervine) |
| Nematocidal | Hibiscus sabdariffa (124. sorrel), Pimento dioica (142. pimento) |
Numbers in bold are plant reference numbers as listed in Tables 5 and 6; plant names in bold are endemic plants.
Table 4: Natural products isolated from plants tested at UWI between 1948 and 2001
| PRN | Isolated Natural Product | Bioactivity |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Coumarine | Increased wound healing but not coagulation |
| 21 | Trans-bixin | Hyperglycaemic, activity at receptor sites |
| 34 | Caesalpine F | Bioactivity not determined |
| 45 | Sesquiterpenoids and sesquiterpene | Anti-microbial, anticancer and mosquitocidal activity |
| 46 | Cannabtriol | Canosol effects eye (glaucoma) |
| 48 | Diterpene cleomolide | Insecticidal activity |
| 54 | Flavanoids, heliangolide | Bioactivity not determined |
| 73 | Tricin | Bioactivity not determined |
| 82 | 6 novel cucurbitacin | Bioactivity not determined |
| 86 | Steroidal sapogenin | Bioactivity not determined |
| 90 | Peptides | Bioactivity not determined |
| 91 | Terpene | Lethal to Cylas formicus |
| 93 | Morphinandienones and proporphines | Bioactivity not determined |
| 103 | Plukentione A, B-G and xerophenone A | Bioactivity not determined |
| 106 | Cadina-4,10(15)-dien-3-one Flavonol | Lethal to Cylas formicus Antitumour and antimicrobial activity |
| 119 | Triterpene | Bioactivity not determined |
| 123 | Choline | Improved short-term memory in rats |
| 131 | Photogedunin | Bioactivity not determined |
| 132 | Triterpenoids | Bioactivity not determined |
| 135 | Pentacyclic triterpene Gamma-aminobutyric acid | Lethal to Cylas formicus Hypertensive agent |
| 140 | Epingaione | Active against C. formicus, B. microplus, Candida albicans and inhibited elongation of radish roots |
| 142 | Essential oils, oleoresins | Bioactivity not determined |
| 159 | Polysulphide | Had insecticidal and acaricidal activity |
| 161 | Clusifoliol, 3 NP | Bioactivity not determined, Anticancer properties |
| Nigrinodine | Antifungal activity | |
| 163 | 5 NP | 2 NP had mosquitocidal activity |
| 164 | 6 amides, 3 amides synthesised from NP | No bioactivity, insecticidal activity |
| 165 | Nigrodine, pipercide, guineesine | Antifeedant, anticancer, antifungal |
| 6 amides | 3 amides lethal to Aedes aegyptii | |
| Gamma-butyric acid | Hypertensive agent | |
| 168 | 6 amides, 3 amides synthesised from NP | No bioactivity, insecticidal activity |
| 169 | 6 amides, 3 amides synthesised from NP | No bioactivity, insecticidal activity |
| 170 | Prenylated hydroxybenzoic derivates, 6 NP | Antimicrobial activity |
| 171 | 2 NP | One had contact insecticidal activity |
| 178 | Triterpenoid saponins | Bioactivity not determined |
| 179 | Tripterpenoids | Insecticidal activity |
| 183 | 2,5-diaryl oxazole, chromene | Bioactivity not determined |
| 190 | Glabresol | Bioactivity not determined |
| 191 | Chromenes, 2-quinolone | Bioactivity not determined |
| 192 | Oil - 3 fatty acids | Potent insecticide - C. formicus, B. microplus, Leucoptera, Hypothenemus hampei, Plutella xylostella |
| 196 | Sesquiterpenoids and 4 caprariolides | 2 NP combined had insecticidal activity against |
| C. formicarius equitoxic to eugenol | ||
| 197 | 4 alvaradoins | Bioactivity not determined |
| Chrysophanol, physcion | No activity against M. tuberculosis | |
| 209 | Freidelane terpenes | Bioactivity not determined |
| 212 | Unsaturated fatty aldehyde | Antihelminthic activity - S. stercoralis |
| 220 | Terpenes | Bioactivity not determined |
| 224 | Phytosterol, spinasterol | Bioactivity not determined |
| Dopamine | Pressor activity | |
| 226 | Jatrophone | Anti-leukaemic agent |
PRN = Plant Reference Number as given in Tables 5 and 6.
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