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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #331312
Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Lantana montevidensis Essential Oil: Chemical Composition and Mosquito Repellent Activity against Aedes aegypti

Author
item BLYTHE, EUGENE - Mississippi State University
item TABANCA, NURHAYAT - University Of Florida
item DERMIRCI, BETUL - Anadolu Universtiy
item TSIKOLIA, MAIA - University Of Florida
item BLOOMQUIST, JEFFREY - University Of Florida
item Bernier, Ulrich

Submitted to: Natural Product Communications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2016
Publication Date: 11/1/2016
Citation: Blythe, E.K., Tabanca, N., Dermirci, B., Tsikolia, M., Bloomquist, J.R., Bernier, U.R. 2016. Lantana montevidensis Essential Oil: Chemical Composition and Mosquito Repellent Activity against Aedes aegypti. Natural Product Communications. DOI 10.1007/s00436-013-3687-6.

Interpretive Summary: Scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, University of Florida, University of Mississippi, and Turkey collaborated to identify chemicals in the oil of the “weeping lantana” flower. The plant is being examined because chemical analysis of related plants has lead to the discovery of new insecticides. The essential oil of this shrub, and the chemicals in the oil, were tested for as repellents for Yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti). Based on the results of the study, it is believe that the compound beta-elemene is a large reason why this oil is so repellent. The results of this study benefit people at risk of mosquito attack throughout the world, and may be of specific use to researchers and commercial entities that are developing new repellents for personal protection from mosquito attack.

Technical Abstract: The essential oil (EO) of Lantana montevidensis (Spreng.) Briq. (L. sellowiana Link & Otto) was investigated for its chemical composition and mosquito repellent activity. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of aerial plant parts was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The major constituents were ß-elemene (22.0%), ß-caryophyllene (20.1%), and germacrene D (9.4%). Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were present in considerable quantities (78.9%) in the L. montevidensis EO, followed by oxygenated sesquiterpenes (8.9%), monoterpene hydrocarbons (7.7%), oxygenated monoterpenes (1.9%), diterpenes (1.2%) and other compounds (0.2%). The oil of L. montevidensis was repellent with a minimum effective dosage (MED) of 0.021 ± 0.013 mg/cm2 as compared with that of the positive control N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) with a MED of 0.006 ± 0.001 mg/cm2) against Aedes aegypti L. The major compound ß-elemene was tested individually for its repellency and had a MED value of 0.23 ± 0.14 mg/cm2 (DEET was 0.008 ± 0.001 mg/cm2). This is the first report on the repellent activity of L. montevidensis EO and ß-elemene using human-based in vivo assays against Ae. aegypti.