The potential for developing botanically derived natural products as novel feed-through repellents for disrupting settlement of the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Caligidae) upon farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, was investigated using an established laboratory vertical Y-tube behavioural bioassay for assessing copepodid behaviour. Responses to artificial sea water conditioned with the odour of salmon, or to the known salmon-derived kairomone component, α-isophorone, in admixture with selected botanical materials previously known to interfere with invertebrate arthropod host location were recorded. Materials included oils extracted from garlic, Allium sativum (Amaryllidaceae), rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiaceae), lavender, Lavandula angustifolia (Lamiaceae), and bog myrtle, Myrica gale (Myricaceae), and individual components (diallyl sulphide and diallyl disulphide from garlic; allyl, propyl, butyl, 4-pentenyl and 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanate from plants in the Brassica genus). Removal of attraction to salmon-conditioned water (SCW) or α-isophorone was observed when listed materials were presented at extremely low parts per trillion (ppt), that is picograms per litre or 10 level. Significant masking of attraction to SCW was observed at a level of 10 ppt for diallyl disulphide and diallyl sulphide, and allyl isothiocyanate and butyl isothiocyanate. The potential of very low concentrations of masking compounds to disrupt Le. salmonis copepodid settlement on a host fish has been demonstrated in vitro.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.