Madagascar

Imported Inorganic Chemical Elements, Oxides and Halogen Salts in Madagascar, 

Country of Origin Rank Value (000 US ) % Share Cumulative % 

Source Philip M. PARKER, Professor, INSEAD, copyright 2002, www.icongrouponline.com 

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The principal ore is chromite, which is found in Zimbabwe, Russia, Transvaal, Turkey, Iran, Albania, Finland, Democratic Republic of Madagascar, and the Phillippines. The metal is usually produced by reducing the oxide with aluminum. 

In 1991, vanilla beans were the highest valued spice import, with shipments totaling 69.0 million, followed by black and white pepper at 60.6 million, capsicum peppers and paprika at 42.6 million, sesame seed at 40.6 million, and cassia and cinnamon at 27.8 million. The most expensive spices, on a unit value basis, include saffron, 1116/kg average New York spot vanilla beans, 80.50/kg for Bourbon beans from Madagascar, Comoros, and Reunion, and 22.05/kg for Java beans and cardamom, 38.54/kg for grade AA bleached Indian and 3.88/kg for Guatemalan mixed greens. 

Vanilla. Vanilla is the dried, cured, fuU-sized, but not fully ripe fmit pods (beans) of Vanillaplanifolia And. and V. tahitensis J. W. Moore (Orchidaceae). The vine is native to the tropical rain forests of southern Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America. Plantings were started in Madagascar, Reunion, Java, Mauritius, and Zanzibar in 1840. The Madagascar-type bean is stUl the most important, but Indonesia produces more than Malagasy. The stmcture of the flower prevents self-pollination and therefore, where insects are not prevalent, hand pollination is necessary. 

The Athabasca deposit, along with the neighboring Wabasca, Peace River, and Cold Lake heavy oil deposits, have together been estimated to contain 1.86 X 10 m (>1.17 X 10 bbl) of bitumen. The Vene2uelan deposits may at least contain >1.60 X 10 m (1.0 X 10 bbl) bitumen (2). Deposits of tar sand, each containing >3 x 10 m (20 x 10 bbl) of bitumen, have also been located in the United States, Albania, Italy, Madagascar,... 

Table 3 summarizes the world s production of natural graphite for 1986—1988 (9). As of 1990, the deposits of significant commercial interest were limited to those of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Madagascar, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Austria, the RepubUc of Korea, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, People s RepubUc of China, and Zimbabwe. 

The three physicaUy different forms of natural graphite, which provide essentiaUy different commodities, are in Sri Lanka (lump), Madagascar (flake), China (flake and amorphous), Brazil (flake), Zimbabwe (flake), Germany (flake), Norway (flake), Mexico (amorphous and flake), and the RepubUc of Korea (amorphous). 

Macoubea guyanensis macoubeine, 372 Macralstonidine macralstonine, 716, 719 Madagascar, 726... 

Kamcroon cardamuio oil is obtained from friiiis which are ideutioal with the -Madagascar cardamoms. They are derived from Amomum... 

Madagascar, the HeveheUes, and various other places have produced the oil, but so far not in any important ( uaglitles. 

Vinca alkaloids are derived from the Madagascar periwinkle plant, Catharanthus roseus. The main alkaloids are vincristine, vinblastine and vindesine. Vinca alkaloids are cell-cycle-specific agents and block cells in mitosis. This cellular activity is due to their ability to bind specifically to tubulin and to block the ability of the protein to polymerize into microtubules. This prevents spindle formation in mitosing cells and causes arrest at metaphase. Vinca alkaloids also inhibit other cellular activities that involve microtubules, such as leukocyte phagocytosis and chemotaxis as well as axonal transport in neurons. Side effects of the vinca alkaloids such as their neurotoxicity may be due to disruption of these functions. 

The vanilla bean is the fruit of the orchid Vanilla planifolia, a native of Mexico, but now grown in many tropical countries such as Madagascar, Tahiti, and Java. The flowers of the vanilla orchid are pol-... 

Fig. 2.1 Map of Africa showing general locations of the Douala-Edea site in Cameroon and the Kibale Forest (Uganda). Abbreviations of countries referred to in other African examples Bots = Botswana, Cam=Cameroon, C.A.R. = Central African Republic, Gh = Ghana, Ken=Kenya, Mad=Madagascar, Moz=Mozambique, Tanz=Tanzania, Zam=Zambia, and Zim=Zimbabwe...

Viljoen et al. (2002) have described the occurrence of a new anthrone derivative, which they named homonataloside B, from 14 species of Aloe (of the 380 tested). Species containing this compound, a hitherto unknown diglycoside, were obtained from scattered sites in East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The compound was not observed in any of the species native to Madagascar. 

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