The Essential Oil from the Resurrection Plant <i>Myrothamnus moschatus</i> Is Effective against Arthropods of Agricultural and Medical Interest

• Main Authors: Roman Pavela (Author), Marta Ferrati (Author), Eleonora Spinozzi (Author), Filippo Maggi (Author), Riccardo Petrelli (Author), Rianasoambolanoro Rakotosaona (Author), Renato Ricciardi (Author), Giovanni Benelli (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

This work aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, insecticidal and acaricidal potential of the essential oil (EO) obtained from the resurrection plant <i>Myrothamnus moschatus</i> (Baill.) Baill. (Myrothamnaceae) from Madagascar. The EO bioactivity was evaluated against selected arthropod pests and vectors of agricultural and public health relevance. The most abundant volatile compounds were <i>trans</i>-pinocarveol (37.7 ± 4.2%) and pinocarvone (20.8 ± 3.1%), similar to the EO of the chemotype collected from the same region. Lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) or doses (LD₅₀) from acute toxicity tests were estimated for <i>Musca domestica</i> (L.) adults at 22.7 µg adult⁻¹, for <i>Spodoptera littoralis</i> (Boisduval) larvae at 35.6 µg larva⁻¹, for <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> (Say) at 43.6 µg mL⁻¹, for adults of <i>Metopolophium dirhodum</i> (Walker) at 2.4 mL L⁻¹, and for adults of <i>Tetranychus urticae</i> (Koch) at 1.2 mL L⁻¹. The good insecticidal and acaricidal activities determined in this work may open a new perspective on the use of this plant as a source of botanical insecticide ingredients. The exploitation of this species could also be important for the African economy, helping local farmers cultivating this plant.

Item Description

10.3390/ph15121511
1424-8247