Jamaican scientist extracts anti-cancer agent from tropical plant, P. alliacea
Zoologist Dr Lawrence Williams, a research consultant with the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica, says he and colleagues in Germany have been able to produce an anti-cancer compound, dibenzyl trisulphide (DTS), from guinea hen weed (petiveria alliacea), which grows wild across Jamaica.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Dr. Williams said he is ready to take his research to the next level - the use of the compound on mice induced with cancer and an investigation into the side effects, including DTS’s impact on the kidneys and the liver. The work is to cost an estimated US $150,000.
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