[Antimutagenic effect of Eleutherococcus extracts on plants treated with ethylmethane sulfonate].

It is established that Eleutherococcus extracts used in weak concentrations decrease the frequency of chromosome mutations induced by ethylmethanesulphonate in onion and barley. As a result the survival rate of plants under conditions of the field experiment increases. It is shown that the fixation of chromosome mutations takes place in the dividing cells of onion roots in the first four hours after treatment with the mutagen. One of the possible mechanisms of defensive Eleutherococcus action (low concentrations) and of mutagenic one (high concentrations) is discussed.