No abstract

Sambucus canadensis is used in traditional medicine mainly in indigenous communities as an anti-inflammatory, antiviral, to treat cough, fever and other ailments, however, its use must be validated on scientific bases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic and cytotoxic effect of the ethanol extract of Sambucus canadensis in meristem cells of Allium sativum with 5 treatments at concentrations of 125, 250, 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/L. Two thousand cells were counted per treatment; the mitotic index (MI) and nuclear abnormalities (NA) were evaluated. Data were analyzed using variance analysis (ANOVA) and Chi square (X2) (p < 0.05). Root growth was found to be inhibited based on the concentration with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). As the dose and exposure time of the ethanol extract increased, the MI decreased. The NA increased at the highest concentrations of 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/L and these differences were statistically significant compared to the control (p = 0.001). With the results obtained, it can be shown that the species has antiproliferative effects and genotoxic activity on the Allium sativum cell cycle, which can be extrapolated to other types of eukaryotic cells. Therefore, despite being a plant with health benefits, moderate use and low concentrations are recommended to avoid harmful effects.

Seed dispersal by animals can be negatively affected by selective logging, but effects such changes in critical food resource, quality of food resources and food availability on seed dispersal and seedling recruitment, remains poorly understood. We investigated how selective logging, impacts the quantity of seed dispersal, focusing on highly frugivorous primate Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis in Calakmul, Mexico. We assessed whether seed dispersal by the spider monkey differs between a logged and an unlogged site in the Calakmul tropical humid forest, Mexico. We recorded seeds in monkey faeces, including those deposited in latrines under sleeping trees (aggregated seed dispersal) and those dispersed across the forest (scattered seed dispersal) during a 5-mo period. The use of sleeping tree was similar in both forest conditions, averaging (± SD) 4.5 ± 4.3 weeks. They deposited 15,853 seeds (1–35 mm in length) from 20 tree species under sleeping trees, but seed abundance was 2.2 times higher in unlogged forests. Scattered seed dispersal (997 seeds from nine species) followed the opposite pattern, with 2.3 times more seeds in logged forests. The number of seeds and species per faecal sample did not differ between forest types, averaging 9.4 ± 20.2 seeds from 1.0 ± 0.8 seed species. Most (95%) scatter-dispersed seeds were undamaged in both forest types. These findings suggest that primate quantity seed dispersal is not limited in logged forests, potentially contributing to the recovery of these managed forests.