Ecuador is an important center of biodiversity for the plant subfamily Amaryllidoideae, known for its important bioactive molecules. This study aimed to assess the chemical and biological potential of four different Amaryllidoideae species collected in Ecuador: , , , and . Twenty-six alkaloids were identified in the bulb extracts of these species using GC-MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConservation and sustainable management of lineages providing non-timber forest products are imperative under the current global biodiversity loss. Most non-timber forest species, however, lack genomic studies that characterize their intraspecific variation and evolutionary history, which inform species' conservation practices. Contrary to many lineages in the Andean biodiversity hotspot that exhibit high diversification, the genus (Arecaceae) has only three species despite the genus' origin 22 million years ago.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremise: Many tropical plants are bat-pollinated, but these mammals often carry copious, multispecific pollen loads making bat-pollinated plants susceptible to heterospecific pollen deposition and reproductive interference. We investigated pollen transfer between sympatric bat-pollinated Burmeistera species and their response to heterospecific pollen deposition from each other.
Methods: We quantified conspecific and heterospecific pollen deposition for two populations of B.
Zephyranthes carinata Herb., a specie of the Amaryllidoideae subfamily, has been reported to have inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase. However, scientific evidence related to their bioactive alkaloids has been lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural products are one of the main sources for developing new drugs. The alkaloids obtained from the plant family Amaryllidaceae have interesting structures and biological activities, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibition potential, which is one of the mechanisms used for the palliative treatment of Alzheimer's disease symptoms. Herein we report the alkaloidal profile of bulbs and leaves extracts of collected in Ecuador and their in vitro inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzymes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParticulate matter (PM) accounts for millions of premature deaths in the human population every year. Due to social and economic inequality, growing human dissatisfaction manifests in waves of strikes and protests all over the world, causing paralysis of institutions, services and circulation of transport. In this study, we aim to investigate air quality in Ecuador during the national protest of 2019, by studying the evolution of PM (PM ≤ 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremise: A disjunct distribution, where a species' geographic range is discontinuous, can occur through vicariance or long-distance dispersal. Approximately 75 North American plant species exhibit a ~650 km disjunction between the Ozark and Appalachian regions. This disjunction is attributed to biogeographic forces including: (1) Eocene-Oligocene vicariance by the formation of the Mississippi embayment; (2) Pleistocene vicariance from interglacial flooding; (3) post-Pleistocene northward colonization from separate glacial refugia; (4) Hypsithermal vicariance due to climate fluctuations; and (5) recent long-distance dispersal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease is considered the most common cause of dementia and, in an increasingly aging population worldwide, the quest for treatment is a priority. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are of main interest because of their cholinesterase inhibition potential, which is the main palliative treatment available for this disease. We evaluated the alkaloidal profile and the inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) of bulb alkaloid extract of and collected in Ecuador.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis data reports a list of all trees DBH > 10 cm in four 50 × 50 m (0.25 ha) permanent plots at Mashpi Rainforest Biodiversity Reserve in the Ecuadorian Chocó forest. Plots were established within an altitudinal gradient from 800 to 1200 m.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is estimated that 50 million people in the world live with dementia, 60-70% of whom suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). Different factors are involved in the development of AD, including a reduction in the cholinergic neurotransmission level. The Amaryllidaceae plant family contains an exclusive, large, and still understudied alkaloid group characterized by a singular skeleton arrangement and a broad spectrum of biological activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe compiled a data set for all tree species collected to date in lowland Amazonian Ecuador in order to determine the number of tree species in the region. This data set has been extensively verified by taxonomists and is the most comprehensive attempt to evaluate the tree diversity in one of the richest species regions of the Amazon. We used four main sources of data: mounted specimens deposited in Ecuadorian herbaria only, specimen records of a large-scale 1-hectare-plot network (60 plots in total), data from the Missouri Botanical Garden Tropicos® database (MO), and literature sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTropical anurans are among the most diverse and vulnerable organisms on Earth, yet the evolutionary mechanisms behind their diversity remain relatively unexplored. Epipedobates anthonyi is a poison frog that inhabits southern Ecuador and northern Peru along a broad elevational range (0-1800 m). Throughout its range, this species exhibits variation in phenotypic traits, such as color, advertisement calls, and alkaloid composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsing complementary metrics to evaluate phylogenetic diversity can facilitate the delimitation of floristic units and conservation priority areas. In this study, we describe the spatial patterns of phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity, phylogenetic endemism, and evolutionary distinctiveness of the hyperdiverse Ecuador Amazon forests and define priority areas for conservation. We established a network of 62 one-hectare plots in terra firme forests of Ecuadorian Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew species of the genera Stenomesson and Eucharis (Amaryllidaceae) are described from Ecuador. Stenomessonecuadorense is the second species of the genus reported from that country, and the only endemic one. It is related to Stenomessonminiatum and Stenomessoncampanulatum, both from Peru, with which it shares orange flower color and the fusion of the staminal corona to the perianth tube.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Tropical Andes is a diversity hotspot for plants, but there is a scant knowledge about patterns of genetic variation within its constituent species. Phaedranassa tunguraguae is an IUCN endangered plant species endemic to a single valley in the Ecuadorian Andes. We estimate the levels of genetic differentiation across the geographic distribution of P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Cocoseae is one of 13 tribes of Arecaceae subfam. Arecoideae, and contains a number of palms with significant economic importance, including the monotypic and pantropical Cocos nucifera L., the coconut, the origins of which have been one of the "abominable mysteries" of palm systematics for decades.
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