2. The Pressing Issues
Agriculture
● Food imports account for 26.6%
(2019)
● Food Import - $18 million USD
Annually
● $2 million USD - Onions (2020)
● $90,000 USD - Avocados (2020)
Access to Herbal Meds
● Many islanders opt for herbal
medicine as an alternative to
pharmaceuticals.
● Understanding the availability and
diversity of medicinal plant life is
essential to improving quality of
island life.
3. Goal:
● Locate and sequence beneficial organisms
● Trace to any possible agriculture and/or medicinal usages
○ Identify if the soil could grow certain plants for food and or/ medicinal
properties based on the current plants that can grow in the environment
■ Ex. Vetiver Grass and young avocado trees
4. The Process and Methods
3/18
● Present
Project Plan
● Receive plot
assignment
● Collect plant samples at
assigned plot
● Morphogenic analysis of
collected plant species
● DNA extraction
● PCR
● Gel electrophoresis
and DNA
sequencing
● BLAST sequencing
● Morphogenic
analysis of collected
plant species
● Bioinformatics
3/25 3/26 3/27
4/10
● Presentation
4/29
9. Collection Pictures- Chionanthus
compactus- “Bridgo Tree”
- Family: Oleaceae (Olive Family)
- No known agriculture /
medicinal benefits
- Locations: Antigua, Saba, St.
Eustatius, St. Kitts, Nevis,
Montserrat, Guadeloupe, La
Désirade, Marie Galante,
Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent, the Grenadines,
Grenada, Greater Antilles
(Hispaniola, Puerto Rico), Virgin
Islands, Trinidad, South
America.
10. Collection Picture- Guettarda elliptica-
“Hammock Velvetseed”
- No known medicinal
benefits
- Agriculture:
- Often used as a
source of wood or a
“natural fence”
around property in
tropical areas
- Wood can be used
for fuel
11. Collection Pictures- Genus Pitraea
Members of the genus are
thought to be used as an
anti-inflammatory and
analgesic.
May also be used to treat
flu symptoms.
18. ● Genus Pitraea, Petrea Kohautiana & Scutia myrtina-
Explore simpler methods for anti-inflammatory and
analgesic refinement
● Mimosa Pudica- Explore agricultural and medicinal
usage for fungal prevention
● Euphorbia tithymaloides- Explore purifying properties
19. Acknowledgements:
Financial Support from AUACOM
Dept. of Environment for giving us access to Walling’s Nature Reserve
AUA professors who organize and mentored in this program
21. 1. http://aua-dna-barcoding.weebly.com/2019-project-results.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_tithymaloides
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3459453/#:~:text=It%20majorly%20possesses%20antibacterial
%2C%20antivenom,and%20also%20applied%20on%20wounds.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutia_myrtina
5. https://www.eattheweeds.com/tag/queens-
wreath/#:~:text=An%20extract%20of%20its%20leaves,diabetes%20and%20high%20blood%20press
ure.
6. https://www.saintlucianplants.com/floweringplants/oleaceae/chiocomp/chiocomp.html
7. Bueno Dos Reis, Fábio (2010). "Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation by Mimosa spp. in the Cerrado and
Caatinga Biomes of Brazil". New Phytologist. 186 (4): 934–946. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03267
8. Visoottiviseth, P; Francesconi, K; Sridokchan, W (August 2002). "The potential of Thai indigenous
plant species for the phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated land". Environmental Pollution. 118
(3): 453–461. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(01)00293-7
9. Petrea volubilis L. Verbenaceae Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info
10. http://www.stuartxchange.org/PurpleWreath
11. https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i4/SUB152754.pdf
12. http://www.jofamericanscience.org/journals/am-sci/am0808/031_9893am0808_202_208.pdf
13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22435170/
14. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/39815#touses
References
Notas del editor
Xeg
Crystal
Crystal
Xeg
Xeg
Xeg
Crystal
[4] https://www.saintlucianplants.com/floweringplants/oleaceae/chiocomp/chiocomp.html
It is apart of the olive family so further research would be great to see if they could contribute to agriculture in supporting the growth of olive trees if planted her in antigua!
No known agricultural or medicinal benefits but we do know it grows in the caribbean
https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/39815#touses
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22435170/
http://www.jofamericanscience.org/journals/am-sci/am0808/031_9893am0808_202_208.pdf
https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i4/SUB152754.pdf
http://www.stuartxchange.org/PurpleWreath
Petrea volubilis L. Verbenaceae Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info
http://nature.jardin.free.fr/1102/nmauric_petrea_volubilis.html
C7: Andy
Visoottiviseth, P; Francesconi, K; Sridokchan, W (August 2002). "The potential of Thai indigenous plant species for the phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated land". Environmental Pollution. 118 (3): 453–461. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(01)00293-7
Bueno Dos Reis, Fábio (2010). "Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation by Mimosa spp. in the Cerrado and Caatinga Biomes of Brazil". New Phytologist. 186 (4): 934–946. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03267
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3459453/#:~:text=It%20majorly%20possesses%20antibacterial%2C%20antivenom,and%20also%20applied%20on%20wounds.
C8: Andy