Jamaica Journal of Science & Technology

JAMAICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Volume 21-24 ISSN: 1016-2054 | 1

www.src.gov.jm

Volume 21 - 24 | December 2010 -2013 | Pages 7-42

Insecticidal Activity of Cantharidin and Selected Derivatives In 2004 a total of 1,263,849 Kg of sweet potato was

produced at an export value of JA$ 96 Million...

Relationships between cadmium in Jamaican soils and mortality. The levels of Cadmium (Cd) in some Jamaican

soils and its presence in the local food chain

have been of concern...

Removing the Smoke from Medical Marijuana (Ganja) THE FORUM.

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Young Scientists’ Abstracts INSIDE THIS ISSUE.

www.src.gov.jm

JJST ISSN: 1016-2054 Published by: The Scientific Research Council, Information Services Division, Hope Gardens Complex, Kingston 6, Jamaica W.I.

2 | JAMAICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Volume 21-24 ISSN: 1016-2054

2 | JAMAICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Volume 21-24 ISSN: 1016-2054

Table of Contents

3 | From the Editor

4 | Editorial Page

5 | Research Briefs

6 | THE FORUM: Removing the Smoke from Medical Marijuana (Ganja) (Author—Professor Henry Lowe)

MAIN ARTICLES

8 | Insecticidal Activity of Cantharidin and Selected Derivatives (Authors—Williams [et al], Lawrence A.D.)

12 | Relationships between Cadmium in Jamaican Soils and Mortality. (Authors—Lalor [et al], Gerald C.)

RESEARCH REVIEW

22 | Rare Earth Elements in Jamaica Soils. (Authors—Lalor [et al], Gerald C.)

30 | The Microbiological Quality of Jamaican Drinking Water. (Authors—Smith [et al] ) Eustace B.)

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS

[Young Scientists’ Abstracts]

40 | Jamaican Medicinal Plants and Their Role in Sustainable Economic Development (Charah T. Watson)

41 | More than Just an Herb, More Like an Antibiotic (Chenielle Delahaye-McKenzie)

42 | Diabetes and Hypertension: Research in Natural Products (Denise Daley Beckford)

44 | Guide for Authors

Insecticidal Activity of Cantharidin

8

Rare earth elements in Jamaican soils...

22

More than Just an Herb, More Like an Antibiotic...

41

ON THE COVER

Cylas formicarius (F.) (“Sweet Potato Weevil”) Native to the Old World; accidentally introduced into the south- ern United States, Hawaii, Greater Antilles, Central America, Australia, and Japan. The sweet potato weevil can be found in the Caribbean in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, St. Kitts- Nevis and in Central America—Mexico and Panama. It is considered the single most important pest of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in countries where it occurs. Weevil infestation ranges from 20 to 50% on many farms and can even reach to 100% depending on the

season and variety. Higher infestation occurs during dry seasons. Weevil damage to tubers causes heavy losses. The larvae feed in the tubers and the adults feed on the stem and leaves.

SOURCE: http://calsnews.cornell.edu/ SEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 9

JAMAICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Volume 21-24 ISSN: 1016-2054 | 3

From the Editor

There is no shortage of international scientific journals of different levels of excellence and competitiveness, and in diverse disciplines,

in which Jamaican scientists can and do publish their scientific findings. Indeed, our scientists are frequently admonished to publish their work in the best of these journals for optimal exposure on the international stage. After all, we are a part of an international community and must maintain our standards by dialogue and competition with the best in the world if our science is to be on par with our standards in sports and music. Still, in developing countries like Jamaica, it is important that

the role of the scientist in the economic and social develop- ment of the nation should be nurtured and that the public

should be educated and informed about the critical role that science can and must play in promoting innovation, solving

problems and in strengthening the nation’s appreciation of the subtle- ties, complexities and the beauty of the environment, local, global and

universal, in which we live. Scientists, the public and our governmental agencies need to be assured that their investment in research, training, employment and promotion of science and its use in both private and public enterprise, in short, medium or long-term, will yield suitable dividends.

To foster this dualistic agenda – to think globally while acting locally –functional scientific societies and strong, vibrant and widely available local scientific journals are central. It is in this context, then, that a local Journal such as the Jamaica Journal of Science & Technology (JJST) has a critical role to play, inviting submissions from local or international sources, which meet our standards and contribute to our focus upon issues which emphasize the vital role of scientific and technological investigations in finding economically viable solutions relevant to the problems of a developing country in the modern world. Our international strength in sports and music did not arise fully formed, but grew out of strong local aspirations, organisations and involvement. So too must it be with our scientific endeavours.

Founded in 1990 as a transformation of the Journal of the Scientific Research Council (1970 - 1988), with the aim “to depict the work of local scientists and technologists,” the JJST, over a 20-year stint with Professor Tara Dasgupta as Chief Editor, produced 20 volumes up to 2010 (Volume 20). After the retirement of Professor Dasgupta, there was a brief hiatus. We have, however, re-emerged, with a renewed commitment to be timely, relevant and accessible. We hope that a new online format will contribute to this. We ask for your commitment to our goals; we welcome your submissions and we look forward to a two-way involvement with you in ensuring the success of the Journal. We wish to hear the voices of those interested and involved in the scientific process and its application in development and so have introduced a FORUM which invites comments in a wide range of formats.

The present issue deals with some very topical matters – a potential insecticide which could be important in controlling the sweet potato weevil; the mystery of why cadmium toxicity does not appear to be associated with excessive morbidity or mortality despite its high concentration in Jamaican soils; the local distribution of the rare earth elements which are of increasing economic importance; the quality of our local water and concerns regarding monitoring; and a contribution to the Forum by Dr Henry Lowe on medical marijuana. We trust that these articles will engage you and anticipate pertinent responses and other contributions to the Forum. We look forward to working with you, our readers and contributors. Best wishes for 2014.

Ronald E. Young

4 JAMAICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Volume 21-24 ISSN: 1016-2054 |

EDITIORIAL PAGE

Chief Editor

Professor Ronald E. Young

Emeritus Professor, c/o School for Graduate Studies & Research

Regional Headquarters, University of the West Indies, (UWI) Mona

Editorial Board

Deputy Chief Editor

Professor Wayne McLaughlin

Dr. Lawrence Williams

Research Consultant, SRC

Head, Dept of Basic Medical Sciences

UWI (Mona)

Professor Tara Dasgupta

Chief Editor Emeritus

Professor Robert Lancashire

Department of Chemistry, UWI (Mona)

Department of Chemistry, UWI (Mona) Dr. Monty Patrick Jones

Professor Bertram Fraser-Reid

President, NPG Industries, Raleigh

North Carolina, USA

Executive Director

Forum for Agriculturale Research in Africa,

FARA Secretariat

(Formerly Professor of Chemistry, Duke University,

ham, North Carolina)

Dur- Mrs. Swarna Bandara

Open Access Consultant, Jamaica

Professor Trevor Jackson

Emeritus Professor Lecturer, UWI

Professor Albert Sasoon

(St Augustine) Senior Consultant

UNESCO

Panel of Referees (8)

About the Jamaican Journal of Science and Technology (JJST)

The Jamaican Journal and Science and Technology (JJST) (ISSN: 1016-2054) is published by the Scientific Research Council of

Jamaica (SRC) since 1990. It is a continuation of the Journal of the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica and beginning with

this current volume. JJST will publish two issues for the year in electronic format as well as printed format.

SRC as the public sector agency charged with fostering and coordinating of scientific research and promotion of the applicati on

of research results in Jamaica, among other activities, also publishes the JJST to achieve its objectives. Therefore, JJST ai ms to

publish scientific papers based on original data on research of interest and relevance to Jamaica, review papers on current

scientific and policy issues. It also publishes research notes, research in progress, abstracts of projects and papers, book reviews,

current events in science, profiles of scientists and technologists and perspectives. Manuscripts could be submitted in all d isci-

plines of Natural Science, including Geology, Agriculture and Computer Science.

5 JAMAICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Volume 21-24 ISSN: 1016-2054 |

JJST RESEARCH BRIEFS

INSECTICIDAL ACTIVITY OF CANTHARIDIN AND SELECTED

DERIVATIVES

In 2004 a total of 1,263,849 Kg of sweet potato was produced at an export value of

JA$96 Million; thus, the sweet potato is an important economic earner for Jamaica.

The sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius) has developed resistance to several

insecticides that are used for controlling the insect and can inflict over

90 percent damage to the plant on farms. Thus, research geared towards finding and developing

effective and safe insecticides is a priority for controlling the insect. The present research revealed that

Cantharidin and its derivatives could be effective insecticides for controlling the sweet potato weevil

and should be developed as a management tool for the insect.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CADMIUM IN JAMAICAN SOILS AND

MORTALITY

The levels of Cadmium (Cd) in some Jamaican soils and its presence in the local food chain have been

of concern because of the general acceptance of the toxicity of Cadmium. The author notes that in

Jamaica, as in other parts of the world, if cadmium has a deleterious effect on health it is well

hidden. He opines that there may be protective factors against cadmium toxicity despite its very

high concentrations and suggests that this could be due to interactions of other elements in the diet.

If it can be established that there are no such effects than the reasons for this would be of

considerable interest and a full epidemiol-ogical investigation including studies would settle the

matter.

RARE EARTH ELEMENTS IN

JAMAICAN SOILS

The very high prices of rare earth elements (REEs) have encouraged the search for viable new

deposits and reenergized long standing interest in the trace element composition of Jamaican bauxite

and red-mud wastes. Many of these elements may now have commercial application as major

resources are depleted and newer applications come to market. The author notes that while the

processing for rare earths is not a simple process if the economics is right it could be manageable.

As a cautionary note radioactive elements are likely to be concentrated and there are significant

amounts of these in Jamaican bauxites.

THE MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF JAMAICAN DRINKING

WATER

In recent years there has been a lot of interest in the microbiological quality of water consumed

by Jamaicans as well as others world-wide. There have been several outbreaks of disease from

drinking municipal water, even in developed countries, and concerns have arisen also about

the quality of commercially available bottled water. Many Jamaicans still do not have access to

commercially available drinking water. This paper looks at the exposure of Jamaicans to

contaminated drinking water, where we are at risk, what are the risks and steps being taken to

ensure the quality of our drinking water. It shows that most of our drinking water is safe but

despite the best efforts of our regulators, on many occasions our drinking water does not meet the

local microbiological quality standards.