Dietary ethanol ingestion by free-ranging spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Ethanol within ripe and over-ripe fruit is produced naturally through the metabolic activity of fermentative yeasts.  As a consequence, frugivorous animals may chronically consume ethanol as part of their routine diet, although direct measurements of such exposure are lacking.  Here, we present data on ethanol concentrations within fruits of the Neotropical tree Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae) that are eaten by Geoffroy's spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama.  Of collected fruits that were partially consumed and then dropped by foraging monkeys, pulp-ethanol content was typically in the range of 1–2%; the percentage of pulp for consumed fruits was not significantly correlated with ethanol concentration of the pulp remaining within each fruit.  Urine samples from foraging spider monkeys were also evaluated for the ethanol metabolites ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS); five of six samples tested positive for both compounds.  In aggregate, these ...成熟及过熟果实中的乙醇，经由发酵酵母（fermentative yeasts）的代谢活动自然产生。因此，食果动物（frugivorous animals）可能会长期将乙醇作为日常饮食的一部分，但目前尚缺乏此类暴露情况的直接实测数据。本研究提供了巴拿马巴罗科罗拉多岛（Barro Colorado Island）上，杰弗里蜘蛛猴（Ateles geoffroyi）取食的新热带界树种槟榔青（Spondias mombin，漆树科Anacardiaceae）果实内的乙醇浓度数据。针对采集到的、被觅食猴子部分取食后丢弃的果实，其果肉乙醇含量通常处于1%~2%区间；被取食果实的果肉食用比例与该果实残留果肉的乙醇浓度无显著相关性。研究还对觅食蜘蛛猴的尿液样本开展了乙醇代谢物乙基葡糖醛酸苷（ethyl glucuronide, EtG）与乙基硫酸盐（ethyl sulfate, EtS）的检测：6份样本中有5份在两种代谢物上均呈阳性结果。综上，这些……