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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #358551
Research Project: New Microbial and Plant-Based Agents for Mosquito Control

Location: Crop Bioprotection Research

Title: Honeysuckle essential oil as a potential source of ecofriendly larvicides for mosquito control

Author
item Muturi, Ephantus
item Doll, Kenneth - Ken
item Berhow, Mark
item Weiler, Lina
item Rooney, Alejandro - Alex

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/7/2019
Publication Date: 1/10/2019
Citation: Muturi, E.J., Doll, K.M., Berhow, M.A., Weiler, L., Rooney, A.P. 2019. Honeysuckle essential oil as a potential source of ecofriendly larvicides for mosquito control. Pest Management Science. 75(7):2043-2048. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5327.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5327

Interpretive Summary: Some plant essential oils have insecticidal properties against mosquitoes and can be harnessed as ecofriendly tools for mosquito control. We tested the toxicity of honeysuckle essential oil and its five fractions against larvae of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. We found that honeysuckle essential oil had substantial toxicity against mosquito larvae and that four of the five fractions of this essential oil were more potent than the whole essential oil. All the nine individual constituents of honeysuckle suckle essential oil tested were less toxic than the whole essential oil suggesting that the observed larvicidal activity was likely due to synergistic interactions between the major and minor constituents of the oil. These findings demonstrate that honey suckle essential oil and its fractions can be exploited as potential sources of ecofriendly larvicides for mosquito control.

Technical Abstract: Some plant essential oils have insecticidal properties against mosquitoes and can be harnessed as ecofriendly tools for mosquito control. We conducted bioassays to determine the toxicity of Italian honeysuckle (Lonicera caprifolium) essential oil and its fractions against larvae of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Sixteen constituents were identified in honeysuckle essential oil compared to 15, 15, 15, and 11 constituents in fractions A, B, C, and E, respectively. The chemical constituents for fraction D were not determined due to lack of enough fraction sample. The two major constituents identified were patchouli alcohol (29.3%) and 6-acetyl-1,1,2,4,4,7-hexamethyltetralin (20.6%) in whole essential oil, alpha-bulnesene (27.6%) and 6-acetyl-1,1,2,4,4,7-hexamethyltetralin (23.2%) in fraction A, unknown chemical (47.3%) and diethylphthalate (19.5%) in fraction B, unknown chemical (38.3%) and diethylphthalate (23.2%) in fraction C, and patchouli alcohol (58.7%) and diethyl phthalate (20.5%) in fraction E. The LC50 for whole essential oil was 34.4 ppm and significantly higher than 20.6, 19.7, 18.6, and 17.7 ppm for fractions B, C, D, and E, respectively. In contrast, fraction A was inactive. At 50 ppm, all individual constituents tested were less toxic than the whole essential oil with exception of patchouli alcohol, which caused 100% mortality. These findings suggest that patchouli alcohol is one of the chemical constituents responsible for bioactivity of honeysuckle essential oil and some of its fractions. The findings also demonstrate that honey suckle essential oil and its fractions can be exploited as a source of ecofriendly larvicides for mosquito control.