Food Plants Research Articles

Association Between Dietary Patterns and Subgingival Microbiota: Results From the Oral Infections, Glucose Intolerance, and Insulin Resistance Study (ORIGINS).

To study the association between dietary patterns and subgingival microbiota. Participants (n = 651) who were enrolled in the Oral Infections, Glucose Intolerance, and Insulin Resistance Study (ORIGINS) with subgingival plaque sampling (n = 890 plaques) and a dietary assessment were included. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences of subgingival plaque from sites with either probing depth <4 or ≥4 mm were processed separately and used to obtain α-diversity metrics (Faith, Shannon, Simpson, Observed) and taxa ratios (Red Complex to Corynebacterium [RCLR], Treponema to Corynebacterium [TCLR], and Treponema to Neisseria [TNLR]). Food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) were processed to calculate Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS) scores. Mixed regression models examined the mean levels of microbial metrics across quartiles of diet quality. Means ± standard errors are reported along with p-values. In multivariable models assessing the association between diet scores and α-diversity metrics, higher AHEI values were significantly associated with lower Faith (p-value = 0.01) and Observed (p-value = 0.04) diversity values; similar findings were observed for APDQS (p-value = 0.01, p-value = 0.04). In multivariable models assessing the association between diet scores (AHEI and APDQS) and taxa ratios (RCLR, TCLR and TNLR), as the AHEI quartile increased, all taxa ratios decreased significantly as follows: -1.06 ± 0.093 in Q1 to -1.34 ± 0.099 in Q4 (RCLR), -0.43 ± 0.077 in Q1 to -0.64 ± 0.083 in Q4 (TCLR) and -0.09 ± 0.083 in Q1 to -0.38 ± 0.089 in Q4 (TNLR), respectively. In contrast, as the APDQS quartiles increased, only TNLR decreased significantly from -0.08 ± 0.085 in Q1 to -0.34 ± 0.091 in Q4. Diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other nutritionally rich plant foods are associated with lower oral microbial diversity and favourable ratios of pathogenic to commensal microbiota.

The influence of drugs containing gluconolactone on the morphological parameters of the blood of rabbits

The work is devoted to the issues of using polyhydroxy acids in rabbit breeding. Antioxidants are extremely important compounds for living organisms. The authors considered the effect of gluconolactone used in the animal diet on the metabolic processes and physiological indicators of life activity of rabbits. Based on the studies (using gluconolactone as an example), the advisability of including supplements containing polyhydroxy acids in the rabbit diet is shown. Polyhydroxy acids, which are antioxidants, when regularly introduced with feed, help to increase the overall resistance of the body, stimulate the growth and healthy development of animals, which in turn leads to obtaining high-quality agricultural products. Rabbits, like other animals, can obtain antioxidants from plant foods, but their concentration may be insufficient for full protection against oxidative stress. To stabilize feed rations, various biologically active additives are used, which make it possible to increase the efficiency of animal rearing and improve productivity indicators. Thus, polyhydroxy acids, in particular gluconolactone, are well suited for sensitive animals that require the utmost care and gentle rearing.

Editorial: Recent knowledge on the applications of molecular hydrogen in plant physiology, crop production, and food processing

Editorial: Recent knowledge on the applications of molecular hydrogen in plant physiology, crop production, and food processing

Biochar-based fertilizers from co-pyrolysis of algae and hazelnut shell with triple superphosphate: Physicochemical properties and slow release performance.

Phosphorus (P) is a vital nutrient for plant growth and food production. Excessive amounts of P fertilizers to a greater extent of crop P offtake are inevitably applied due to low utilization efficiency, causing environmental pollution. This study aimed to evaluate biochar-based fertilizers (BBFs) produced by co-pyrolyzing algae (A) and hazelnut shell (H) biomasses with triple superphosphate (TSP) at a ratio of 4:1 (w/w). The potential of the slow-release performance of BBFs was studied during kinetics experiments. The co-pyrolysis of biomasses with TSP yielded BBFs with significantly different properties, including electrical conductivity, pH, elemental ratios, functional groups, specific surface area and pore size characteristics. Phosphorus release from all biochars and BBFs followed the Elovich model, except for TSP and H+TSP. Kinetic studies revealed prolonged P-release times and slower release rates for BBFs compared to conventional TSP. So that, TSP released 100% of the total P, whereas H+TSP and A+TSP biochars released only 3.14% and 5.14% of the total P, respectively, during a 240-hour experiment. The slow-release performance of BBFs suggests their potential as promising alternatives to conventional phosphate fertilizers. BBFs have the potential to enhance P utilization efficiency, increase crop yield and mitigate the environmental impact of P fertilizer runoff.

Parasites provide evidence for fish consumption among Iron Age Siberian pastoralists

The subsistence economies of prehistoric pastoralists of the Eurasian steppes have long been viewed through an oversimplified model of reliance on domesticated animals. This conceptualization has begun to shift dramatically through the introduction of scientific analyses, pivoting towards an evidence-based interpretation of economic flexibility and adaptive heterogeneity. Here we provide insights into the dietary practices of Iron Age pastoralists in Siberia through an archaeoparasitological analysis. Soil samples from the Tunnug 1 site in southern Siberia reveal the presence of helminth eggs of Taenia sp. (likely), Trichuris sp., and Dibothriocephalus sp. This indicates that the diet of the analysed prehistoric population might have included beef and did include freshwater fish, occasionally consumed in undercooked or raw form. Despite the primary reliance on pastoralism and possibly small-scale millet agriculture, these populations engaged in diverse dietary practices, including fish consumption. Additionally, the presence of Trichuris sp. eggs points to poor sanitary conditions, possible consumption of contaminated plant foods, and the contamination of drinking water with feces. By providing direct evidence of dietary habits, archaeoparasitology complements isotopic analyses and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the subsistence strategies.

Puerarin: a hepatoprotective drug from bench to bedside.

Pueraria is a time-honored food and medicinal plant, which is widely used in China. Puerarin, the main component extracted from pueraria, has a variety of pharmacological characteristics. In recent years, puerarin has received increasing attention for its significant hepatoprotective effects, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-related liver disease, and hepatic carcinoma. This paper explores the pharmacological effects of puerarin on various liver diseases through multiple mechanisms, including inflammation factors, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, apoptosis, and autophagy. Due to its restricted solubility, pharmacokinetic studies revealed that puerarin has a low bioavailability. However, combining puerarin with novel drug delivery systems can improve its bioavailability. Meanwhile, puerarin has very low toxicity and high safety, providing a solid foundation for its further. In addition, this paper discusses puerarin's clinical trials, highlighting its unique advantages. Given its excellent pharmacological effects, puerarin is expected to be a potential drug for the treatment of various liver diseases.

Germination of chief fire seeds cockscomb cultivar under saline stress conditions induced by sodium chloride

Cockscomb plant, Chief fire cultivar, is used as an ornamental, medicinal and non-conventional food plant (NCFP) and is cultivated from the north to the center-west of Brazil; however, these areas suffer from adverse environmental factors such as salinity stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the seed germination performance and vigor of Celosia cristata L. var. Chief Fire seedlings exposed to salinity during the germination phase. To carry out the work, C. cristata seeds were sown in gerboxes conditioned to increasing doses of sodium chloride (NaCl), obtained by dissolving the salt in distilled water, obtaining electrical conductivities of 2.0; 4.0; 6.0 and 8.0 dS.m-1, constituting the treatments. An additional group was treated only with distilled water and was used as a control for the experiment. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design, with a total of five treatments and four replicates of 25 seeds. The parameters assessed were: first germination count, germination, germination speed index (GVI), mean germination time (MGT), length of aerial part and primary root. The data was submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared using the Scott-Knott test at 5% significance. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the conditions of salt stress induced by NaCl were not harmful to the germination of C. cristata, presenting itself as a species tolerant to water salinity during seed germination, since the variables analyzed showed no signs of deleterious effects as the salt concentration was increased.

Flavonoids in breast milk and their absorption, metabolism, and bioactivity in infants.

Flavonoids are present in plant foods such as vegetables and fruits and exhibit various physiological effects, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Ingested flavonoids are absorbed from the intestinal tract and circulated in the blood. Some studies have indicated the presence of flavonoids in breast milk. However, information on their metabolites and concentrations in breast milk and the subsequent transfer to and physiological functions in infants is limited. Therefore, this review presents a compilation of recent findings on the transfer of flavonoids to infants via breast milk and their bioactivities.

Space-Confined Amplification for In Situ Imaging of Single Nucleic Acid and Single Pathogen on Biological Samples.

Direct in situ imaging of nucleic acids on biological samples is advantageous for rapid analysis without DNA extraction. However, traditional nucleic acid amplification in aqueous solutions tends to lose spatial information because of the high mobility of molecules. Similar to a cellular matrix, hydrogels with biomimetic 3D nanoconfined spaces can limit the free diffusion of nucleic acids, thereby allowing for ultrafast in situ enzymatic reactions. In this study, hydrogel-based in situ space-confined interfacial amplification (iSCIA) is developed for direct imaging of single nucleic acid and single pathogen on biological samples without formaldehyde fixation. With a polyethylene glycol hydrogel coating, nucleic acids on the sample are nanoconfined with restricted movement, while in situ amplification can be successfully performed. As a result, the nucleic acids are lighted-up on the large-scale surface in 20min, with a detection limit as low as 1 copy/10 cm2. Multiplex imaging with a deep learning model is also established to automatically analyze multiple targets. Furthermore, the iSCIA imaging of pathogens on plant leaves and food is successfully used to monitor plant health and food safety. The proposed technique, a rapid and flexible system for in situ imaging, has great potential for food, environmental, and clinical applications.

In vitro antioxidant and in silico enzyme inhibition studies of Carissa carandas Linn.: potential ingredient for nutraceutical development

ABSTRACT Carissa carandas L. is a wild food plant, however, is cultivated for its fruits to be utilized to make pickles, jams, and other similar products. Fruit of this plant has been intensively investigated for its bioactive potential; however, a scanty study is reported on the leaf, which is usually wasted. In the present study, ethanolic extract of the leaf of C. carandas was analyzed for its total bioactive contents and found rich in phenolics and flavonoids (26.67 ± 0.33 mg GAE/g extract and 18.42 ± 0.05 mg RE/g extract, respectively). These findings were substantiated due to UHPLCMS/MS analysis, which disclosed the presence of about 110 secondary metabolites, mostly lignans, flavonoids, and terpenoids. In DPPH and ABTS free radical inhibition assays, the extract showed inhibitory values as 47.51 ± 0.09 and 93.09 ± 2.8 mg TE/g extract, respectively. Its further antioxidant potential was observed in CUPRAC and FRAP assays, wherein the metal reducing power was recorded as 102.05 ± 1.03 and 67.24 ± 0.9 mg TE/g extract, respectively, while in phosphomolybdenum and metal chelating assays, the extract also disclosed potential activity (0.92 ± 0.02 mmol TE/g extract and 21.42 ± 0.34 mg EDTAE/g extract). The extract was also significantly active against tyrosinase (45.69 ± 0.7 mg KAE/g extract) and showed mild activities against AChE (3.61 ± 0.16 mg GALAE/g extract), BChE (1.43 ± 0.2 mg GALAE/g extract), α-amylase (0.46 ± 0.01 mmol ACAE/g extract) and α-glucosidase (1.05 ± 0.02 mmol ACAE/g extract). In computational studies, binding affinities for AChE and BChE enzymes were from −4.21 to −12.70 and −7.58 to −12.53 kcal/mol, respectively, confirming the results of the invitro tests and ADME studies. The current finding suggested that C. carandas may be considered as a source for several nutraceutical formulations.

Classification Of Plants By Their Fruits And Leaves Using Convolutional Neural Networks

The population growth of the world is exponential, this makes it imperative that we have an increase in food production. In this light, farmers, industries and researchers are struggling with identifying and classifying food plants. Over the years, there have been challenges that come with identifying fruits manually. It is time-consuming, labour intensive and requires experts to identify fruits because of the similarity in fruit’s leaves (citrus family), shapes, sizes and colour. A computerized detection technique is needed for the classification of fruits. Existing solutions to fruits classifications are majorly based on fruit or leave used as input. A new model using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is proposed for fruits classification. A dataset of 5 classes of fruits and fresh dry leaves plants (Mango, African almond, Guava, Avocado and Cashew) comprising of 1000 images each. The proposed model hyperparameters were: Conv2D layer, activation layer, dense layer, a learning and dropout rates of 0.001 and 0.5 respectively were used for the experiment. Various performances for accuracies of 91%, 97%, 78% and 97% were obtained for proposed model on local dataset, proposed model on benchmark dataset, benchmark model on local dataset and benchmark model on benchmark dataset. The proposed model is robust on both local and benchmark datasets and can be used for effective classification of plants

Empowering the Muhammadiyah Kemasan Branch Community: Greening the Environment with Food Plants and Toga

Ranting Muhammadiyah Kemasan, in collaboration with KKNT-T students, focuses on community empowerment and environmental improvement at Masjid Al-Muhtadin. The main challenges are the lack of green space and poor waste management. The program consists of three stages: Observation, Implementation, and Maintenance. The observation stage identifies environmental issues such as disorganized construction materials and insufficient green areas. Implementation includes planting ornamental and TOGA plants and providing waste bins for organic and inorganic waste separation. Maintenance involves watering and educating the community on cleanliness. As a result, the aesthetics and comfort of the mosque environment have improved, TOGA plants offer long-term benefits, and community awareness of mosque cleanliness has increased, strengthening collective responsibility.

Mineral nutrients and protein composition of non-conventional food plants (Pereskia aculeata Miller, Sonchus oleraceus L. and Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott)

Ora-pro-nóbis (Pereskia aculeata Miller), taioba (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott) and serralha (Sonchus oleraceus L.) are non-conventional food plants found in Brazil that could be included in the human diet, but they are not produced on large-scale. However, they have risen in popularity, due to their association with high nutritional values. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the mineral and protein composition of raw and cooked plants from assorted locations. The cooking process did not affect the mineral and protein results on dry mass basis. Furthermore, high variations in mineral composition were observed for different locations. Comparing the results with conventional plants composition databases, the protein content of ora-pro-nobis and taioba were significantly higher than values of spinach. Taioba was the plant that presented more minerals with higher concentrations when compared to the conventional plants. The protein contribution per serving of these plants to the Dietary Reference Intake ranged from 1.1 % to 7 %. Regarding the minerals, cooked taioba can be a source of Ca, Mg, and Cu and high in Mn (11–33 % to DRI). Cooked ora-pro-nobis can be classified as a source of Ca, Mg and Mn (16–29 % to DRI). While the contributions from serralha were less than 11 % of the DRI. These results demonstrate that these non-conventional food plants are an alternative food source that could be better exploited, improving dietary diversity.

B-060 Prevalence of CCD and profilins antibodies in a seasonal allergy study

Abstract Background Allergen sources are complex and heterogeneous mixtures of proteins, which may contain from innocuous IgE-binding structures such as CCDs (cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants), which are not associated with symptoms, to a panallergen such as profilin, which is associated with multiple sensitizations to pollen and pollen-food-latex syndromes. CCDs are present in many plant and animal allergens and cause strong cross-reactivity due to the high similarity of their structure. They complicate the interpretation of positive in vitro diagnostic results because they do not associate symptomatology and, thats why, the determination of specific IgE antibodies against CCDs can provide useful information when positive IgE results are not consistent with the clinical picture. Profilins are ubiquitous proteins present in all eukaryotic cells and identified as allergens in pollen, latex and plant foods. The highly conserved structure explains the cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies against plant profilins and their designation as panallergens. As a panallergen, profilin is associated with multiple pollen sensitization and pollen-food-latex syndromes that the allergist must be aware of for accurate diagnosis and successful treatment of allergic diseases. We intend to evaluate the prevalence of these two markers with a new diagnostic tool, since profilins and CCDs are the substances most likely to cause in vitro cross-reactivity. Methods In our study 8,242 adults who presented rhinoconjunctivitis and visited their primary care center were included. The samples were analyzed in serum samples which were routinely processed in our laboratory with the EUROLINE Mediterranean Inhalation 2 (IgE) assay from Euroimmun® from February to July 2023, according to the manufacturer’s protocols. Patients with specific IgE levels ≥ 0.35 kU/L were identified as sensitized to allergen. Results A total of 8,242 patients were enrolled in this study, 5,173 women and 3,069 men, ranging in age from 15 to 65 years. Of these, 279 patients (3.39%) had antibodies against CCD, 570 (6.92%) antibodies against profilins and 183 (2.22%) had both. A higher prevalence of these antibodies was observed in men (CCD, n = 168, 5.47%; Profilins, n = 308, 10.04%) than in women (CCD, n = 111, 2.15%; Profilins, n = 262, 5.06%). Both markers were more frequently found in the presence of specific IgE antibodies to grass and weed pollens. Conclusions The possibility of detecting the presence of IgE antibodies against CCD and panallergenic profilins is useful to detect cross-reactivity in vitro, which could explain the differences found between laboratory results and patients' symptoms, helping the allergist to make a diagnosis with greater certainty and accuracy.

Nutritional Value, Phytochemical Properties of Different Parts of Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and Their Effects on in vitro Digestibility in Ruminants

Introduction: At the interface between man, animal and environment, the use of phytobiotics in agroecology practices has been developed as one of the most effective nutritional strategies for animal performance, health, and well-being. This study aimed to determine the effect of extracts from different parts (leaves, flowers and fruits) of a medicinal and food plant, dill ( Anethum graveolens L.) on in vitro digestibility in small ruminants. Methods: Chemical and parietal composition and antioxidant activity were determined, and nutritional and energy values were predicted. Substrate fermentation was studied using in vitro gas production techniques in sheep and goat intestines. Results: Flowers were rich in secondary metabolites, while fruits were rich in fiber and showed the best antioxidant activity against DPPH (IC50 = 41.71 μg/ml). The studied dill plant parts were digestible and nutritious, mainly fruits, with lower gas production rates compared to leaves and flowers in sheep and goats. The methane gas produced by fermentation was not significant in the leaves of either species. Conclusion: In summary, A. graveolens fruits can be considered a natural source of antioxidants that improve animal nutrition and health. Moreover, A. graveolens leaves can play an ecological role in the environment.

Targeted LC-MS/MS method of oxylipin profiling reveals differentially expressed serum metabolites in type 2 diabetes mice with panaxynol

Panaxynol is a bioactive polyacetylene in food plants; however, its specific benefits in diabetes and metabolic disorders remain unclear. Previous studies have mainly focused on biochemical indicators and clinical evaluations. Limited research has systematically elucidated the beneficial effects of panaxynol from the oxylipins perspective. In this study, we employed an oxylipin analysis platform we previously established using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) based on the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method for the profiling of oxylipins. After a 7-week administration of panaxynol to db/db mice, significant alterations in serum oxylipins and potential benefits to hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis were observed. Our analysis also revealed correlations among epoxygenase products derived from arachidonic acid (AA), linoleic acid (LA), and α-linolenic acid (ALA) via cytochrome P450 (CYP) pathways. Furthermore, six potential oxylipins were identified, as offering insights into the mechanisms by which panaxynol may modulate diabetes. These results provide the first in vivo evidence of the impact of panaxynol on oxylipin metabolism and lay the foundation for developing panaxynol as a nutraceutical for diabetes management.

Omnivore, vegan and vegetarian diet quality associations with depressive symptoms: A comparative cross-sectional analysis of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health

BackgroundDepressive symptoms are experienced by >350 million people globally. Research suggests that a diet rich in plant foods could be protective against depressive symptoms, but vegans and vegetarians who eat a predominant plant-based diet are known to have higher depressive symptoms than omnivores. MethodsThis study aims to explore a secondary analysis of the association between diet quality and depressive symptoms in women born between 1973 and 1978 who follow vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore diets from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health at baseline (1996) and at three time points (2000, 2003 and 2009). ResultsAfter controlling for covarying factors, there was a significant association between diet quality and depressive symptoms in both the plant-based and omnivore groups at both time points F(9, 4851) = 106.90, p < .001. There was no significant difference between diet quality and depressive symptoms between diet type. ConclusionsDespite diet type (plant-based or omnivore), adhering to a high-quality diet may decrease depressive symptoms and a low-quality diet may increase depressive symptoms in Australian women. LimitationsCaution should be exercised when interpreting these results due to the small sample sizes and small resulting coefficients, there is uncertainty that coefficients this small can be associated with any meaningful change in an individual being treated for depressive symptoms in a clinical setting.

6-O-alkyl 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucosides as selective substrates for GBA1 in the discovery of glycosylated sterols

Gaucher disease (GD) is a lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) resulting from inherited glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) deficiency. GD diagnosis relies on GBA1 activity assays, typically employing 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (4MU-β-Glc) as fluorogenic substrate. However, these assays suffer from background 4MU release by the non-lysosomal GBA2 and cytosolic GBA3 enzymes. Here we developed GBA1-selective fluorogenic substrates by synthesizing a series of 6-O-acyl-4MU-β-Glc substrates with diverse fatty acid tails. Because of the chemical and enzymatic instability of the ester bonds, analogs of 6-O-palmitoyl-4MU-β-Glc (3) with different chemical linkages were synthesized. 6-O-alkyl-4MU-β-Glc 9, featuring an ether linkage, emerged as the most optimal GBA1 substrate, exhibiting both a low Km and compared to substrate 3 a high Vmax. Importantly, substrate 9 is not hydrolyzed by GBA2 and GBA3 and therefore acts as a superior substrate for GD diagnosis. Plants contain glycosyl phytosterols (campesterol, β-sitosterol, and sigmasterol) that may also be acylated at C-6. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that 6-O-acylated and regular glycosylcholesterol (HexChol) tend to be increased in spleens of patients with GD. Moreover, significant increases in 6-O-acyl-glycosyl-phytosterols were detected in GD spleens. Our findings suggest uptake of (6-O-acyl)-glycosyl-phytosterols from plant food and subsequent lysosomal processing by GBA1, and comprise the first example of accumulation of an exogenous class of glycolipids in GD. Excessive exposure of rodents to glycosylated phytosterols has been reported to induce manifestations of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Further investigation is warranted to determine whether (6-O-acyl)-glycosyl-phytosterols could contribute to the enigmatic link between inherited defects in GBA1 and the risk for PD.

The gut microbiome without any plant food? A case study on the gut microbiome of a healthy carnivore

Objective The carnivore diet is a ketogenic diet based exclusively on the consumption of food of animal origin. While the impact of various diets on the gut microbiome is extensively documented, the effects of a carnivore diet remain unclear. To address this gap, we conducted a pilot study on the gut microbiome of an individual following a carnivore diet and compared it with that of a subgroup of healthy individuals. Methods A stool sample was collected from a healthy 32-year-old male adhering to a carnivore diet and was sequenced using 16S DNA Amplicon Sequencing. The results were then compared to those from three control groups possessing similar anthropometric characteristics and differing in their frequency of meat consumption. Results The gut microbiome of the carnivore was dominated by the phylum Firmicutes and the genera Faecalibacterium, Blautia, unspecific Lachnospiraceae, Bacteroides, and Roseburia—bacteria known for fiber degradation. Furthermore, neither alpha- nor beta-diversity, nor the functional capacity of the gut microbiome, showed differences when compared to the control groups. Additionally, the gut microbiome of the carnivore showed the least similarities with the microbiome of the cohort consuming meat on a daily basis. Conclusions In our study, we showcase the compositional and functional characteristics of the gut microbiome in an individual on a carnivorous diet, finding no differences in comparison to a control cohort. Further research is needed to investigate the short- and long-term impacts of a carnivorous diet on gut health through cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Significance statement To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to report on the composition of the gut microbiome of a person adhering long-term to the carnivore diet.

Multi-method approach to assessing the floral-visiting insect assemblage of rare, abophilous plant Baccharis vanessae in Southern California.

Insects are the major pollination vectors for angiosperms, and insects native to a given habitat can play an irreplaceable ecological role in food webs and plant reproduction. With precipitous declines in insect species over the last decades, it is urgent to document insect assemblages in native plant communities to support conservation efforts. Identifying pollinators and their pollination activity is challenging; however, emerging technological methods are providing new monitoring capabilities. In this study, we compare the accuracy of two different methods of monitoring to assess the flower-visiting insect assemblage and likely pollinators of Encinitas baccharis (Baccharis vanessae): focal observations and video recordings from camera traps. B. vanessae is a rare, endemic species found in Coastal Sage Scrub communities in San Diego County. This federally listed species is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, which may also be affecting the availability of its insect pollinators. Results indicate that B. vanessae supports and is supported by a variety of flower-visiting insect groups. The diversity of insect visitors at male and female plants were similar across all diversity measurements. The insect vectors identified were as expected given B. vanessae pollination syndrome. This syndrome also aligns with wind as a pollination vector, providing evidence of ambophily. While focal observations underreported insect activity by approximately half, the proportions of common diurnal visitors were similar with both methods. Camera traps were unable to provide sufficient detail to discern visually similar groups, but were able to record nocturnal insect activity, which was dominated by moths (Lepidoptera, 82%). While collection protocol in this study did not record the time an insect spent interacting with a flower, we anecdotally observed moths spent notably longer periods in contact with flowers than most diurnal insects. This study has implications for effective monitoring and conservation of endangered plant species and their affiliated pollinators.