Abstract
Adverse effects caused by synthetic pesticides have increased interest in plant-derived insecticidal compounds, in particular essential oils, as a more compatible and ecofriendly alternative for pest control of economic importance. For this reason, the essential oil isolated from leaves and shoots of Drimys winteri (J.R. Forster & G. Forster)—also named canelo (CEO)—was investigated for its chemical profile and insecticidal action against Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say)—one of the most important post-harvest pests of dry beans in the world—and Aegorhinus superciliosus (Guérin)—a significant pest of fruit trees in Chile. The analysis by gas chromatography, paired with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) determined 56 compounds, corresponding to 92.28% of the detected compounds. Elemol (13.54%), γ-eudesmol (11.42%), β-eudesmol (8.49%), α-eudesmol (6.39%), α-pinene (7.92%) and β-pinene (5.17%) were the most abundant. Regarding the bioactivity of the CEO, the results demonstrated toxicological effects against A. obtectus. A concentration of 158.3 µL L−1 had a mortality rate of 94% after 24 h exposure. The LC50 and LC90 values at 24 h were 60.1 and 163.0 µL L−1. Moreover, behavioral bioassays showed a repellent effect against A. superciliosus with a dose of one microliter of CEO. Both sexes of the raspberry weevil stayed for very short times in the treated area with the oil (<0.8 min), showing a homogeneous repellency in the species. The overall data suggest that canelo leaves and shoots essential oil has an insecticide effect and is worth exploring to better understand the synergistic relationship between the compounds present in the essential oil.
Highlights
The study and use of essential oils (EOs) is an interesting and potential tool to develop botanical insecticides safer for health and the environment [1,2]
Results in Figure show that the activity of the essential oil extracted from D. winteri against winteri obtectus adults was influenced significantly influenced
We cannot generalize from such findings as each substance differs strongly in its activity and varies according to the species. This is the first report of the chemical profile of canelo leaves and shoots essential oil obtained from the Araucanía, which enriches the phytochemical knowledge of the species
Summary
The study and use of essential oils (EOs) is an interesting and potential tool to develop botanical insecticides safer for health and the environment [1,2] They are biosynthesized in aromatic plants as secondary metabolites and they play a protective role against biotic factors, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and insects [1,2,3,4]. Forster) (Winteraceae)—commonly known as canelo, voigue or boighe—is a perennial tree growing in the sub-Antarctic forests of Chile and Argentina [14] This species is characterized as having great ecological plasticity [15], growing in wetlands and marshes [16] and even in lands left bare due to fire [17]. Our work seeks to expand the knowledge of canelo insecticidal bioactivity towards two important pests of the order Coleoptera—the bean weevil
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