Interactions of Schinus terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae) essential oil against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae

Fernanda Marques Pacheco,Matheus De Sousa Melo Morais,Taynara Ellen Sardeiro Vieira,Luiz Carlos Da Cunha,Adelair Helena Dos Santos,Camila Aline Romano,José Realino De Paula,Jerônimo Raimundo De Oliveira Neto

doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i10.18892

Fernanda Marques Pacheco, Matheus De Sousa Melo Morais + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i10.18892

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Abstract

Essential oils arouse the interest of research for insect control. Schinus terebinthifolius is described in the literature for being bioactive against Aedes aegypti larvae. However, studies are scarce to fully assess the larvicidal potential of this species. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, bioactivity, time of death and bioavailability of the essential oil from different parts of S. terebinthifolius obtained from the Brazilian cerrado on Ae. aegypti larvae. For this, plants grown in the city of Goiânia-GO were used and the elucidation of the chemical composition of essential oils was carried out by means of gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Ae. aegypti larvae were used in the bioassays to assess larvicidal activity, determine the time of death and bioavailability of the essential oil in solution. In addition, the interference of essential oil in the activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase was also investigated. Based on the results obtained, it was observed that the most promising essential oil for the development of larvicidal formulations is that of fruits, based on having higher yield, greater bioactivity, time of death similar to synthetic insecticides. An inhibitory interaction of acetylcholinesterase was also observed. However, the essential oil had low bioavailability, so it is necessary to develop formulations to increase its bioactivity period.

Highlights

Essential oils (OE) are compounds derived from the secondary metabolism of plants, which are characterized for being volatile and hydrophobic liquids with various applications
Results show that the components found in fruits and seeds are formed predominantly by monoterpenes
The 17 monoterpenes are described in the literature for their satisfactory larvicidal activity, being the main compounds of interest evaluated in this study (Kweka et al, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Essential oils (OE) are compounds derived from the secondary metabolism of plants, which are characterized for being volatile and hydrophobic liquids with various applications. These compounds are widely used by the pharmaceutical and food industries mainly due to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and organoleptic properties (Bhavaniramya et al, 2019; Mishra et al, 2020; Goudjil et al, 2020; He et al, 2020) They are promising products in the research and development of bioinsecticides because they interact with the nervous system of insects due to anticholinesterase activity, inhibition, or antagonism of gamma-aminobutyric receptors (Braga et al, 2007) or acting on the digestive system (Camaroti et al, 2018). The Anacardiaceae family has approximately 81 genera subdivided into 800 species, present mainly in tropical and subtropical regions (Pell, 2011) It is a family with plants known for food consumption, but many of these species have insecticidal potential against mosquitoes vectors of diseases such as Anacardium occidentale L. The genus Schinus has species widely distributed throughout the Brazilian territory, among them, Schinus molle L., which is investigated in the control of urban disease vectors such as Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) for example (Zahran et al, 2017)

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