Insecticidal Activity of 28 Essential Oils and a Commercial Product Containing Cinnamomum cassia Bark Essential Oil against Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky.

Yunho Yang,Murray B Isman,Jun-Hyung Tak

doi:10.3390/insects11080474

Yunho Yang, Murray B Isman + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11080474

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Journal: Insects	Publication Date: Jul 27, 2020
Citations: 68	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Seoul National University, University of British Columbia

Abstract

Maize weevils, Sitophilus zeamais, are stored product pests mostly found in warm and humid regions around the globe. In the present study, acute toxicity via contact and residual bioassay and fumigant bioassay of 28 essential oils as well as their attraction–inhibitory activity against the adults of S. zeamais were evaluated. Chemical composition of the essential oils was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and a compound elimination assay was conducted on the four most active oils (cinnamon, tea tree, ylang ylang, and marjoram oils) to identify major active constituents. Amongst the oils examined, cinnamon oil was the most active in both contact/residual and fumigant bioassays, and exhibited strong behavioral inhibitory activity. Based on the compound elimination assay and chemical analyses, trans-cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon oil, and terpinen-4-ol in tea tree and marjoram oils were identified as the major active components. Although cinnamon oil seemed promising in the lab-scale bioassay without rice grains, it failed to exhibit strong insecticidal activity when the container was filled with rice. When a cinnamon oil-based product was applied both in an empty glass jar and a rice-filled container, all weevils in the empty jar were killed, whereas fewer than 15% died in the rice-filled container.

Highlights

Stored-product weevils including the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, and the rice weevil, S. oryzae Linnaeus, belonging to the family Curculionidae, show cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in numerous warm and humid regions worldwide [1]
The maize weevils used in this study was originally collected from home storages in Yongin, South Korea (37◦ 110 02.2” N 127◦ 120 24.8” E) in late 2018, and the colony had been maintained in an insectary at Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, without exposure to any known insecticides at 26 ± 1 ◦ C, 50–60% RH, and a 14:10 h L:D photoperiod
Acute toxicity and attraction–inhibitory activity of 28 commercially obtained essential oils and their major constituents were examined against the adults of S. zeamais

Summary

Introduction

Stored-product weevils including the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, and the rice weevil, S. oryzae Linnaeus, belonging to the family Curculionidae, show cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in numerous warm and humid regions worldwide [1]. Maize weevils cause significant damage in stored grains including the reduction in nutritional quality, weight and germination rates of seeds in developing countries [2,3], but are associated with human health due to allergen production and food safety in developed counties as well, since they can transmit fungi including Aspergillus flavus and several types of bacteria [4]. Heavy reliance on phosphine has resulted in the resistance development of resistance in numerous stored product insects including Sitophilus spp. in grain stores [5] as well as in the food industry and flour mills [6]. Essential oils are known to display various biological activities including acute and chronic toxicity, repellent activity, and inhibition of oviposition, growth, feeding and development against insect pest species [8,9,10]

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