Chemical composition and larvicidal evaluation of Mentha, Salvia, and Melissa essential oils against the West Nile virus mosquito Culex pipiens

Abstract

The volatile metabolites of wild-growing Mentha spicata, M. longifolia, M. suaveolens, Melissa officinalis, Salvia fruticosa, S. pomifera subsp. calycina, and S. pomifera subsp. pomifera from Greece were determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The insecticidal properties of the analyzed essential oils were screened on Culex pipiens larvae. Additionally two of the main components of the essential oils, piperitenone oxide and 1,8-cineole were assayed against C. pipiens in order to define the affiliation between them and the larvicidal properties of the oils. The most effective oils were M. suaveolens (major constituent piperitenone oxide, 62.4%), M. spicata (piperitenone oxide, 35.7% and 1,8-cineole, 14.5%) and M. longifolia--Central Greece (piperitenone oxide, 33.4%; 1,8-cineole, 24.5% and trans-piperitone epoxide, 17.4%), which exhibited LC(50) values ranging from 47.88 to 59.33 mg l(-1). Medium activity revealed the oils of M. officinalis (terpin-4-ol, 15.8%; caryophyllene oxide, 13.2%; sabinene, 12.9%; beta-pinene, 12.1%; and trans-caryophyllene, 10.2%), M. longifolia--Southern Greece (carvone, 54.7% and limonene 20.0%), S. pomifera subsp. pomifera (trans-caryophyllene, 22.5% and trans-thujone, 21.0%), S. pomifera subsp. calycina--West Southern Greece (trans-thujone, 56.1% and 1,8-cineole, 10.4%), and S. fruticosa--population 2 (camphor, 23.1%; alpha-pinene, 12.7%; and borneol, 12.6%), with LC(50) values ranging from 78.28 to 91.45 mg l(-1). S. pomifera subsp. calycina (Central Greece) essential oil (trans-thujone, 26.5% and cis-thujone, 12.0%) presented rather low activity (LC(50) values 140.42 mg l(-1)), while S. fruticosa--population 1 (1,8-cineole, 31.4% and camphor, 22.6%) was the only inactive oil. Additionally, the constituent piperitenone oxide was found to be highly active (LC(50) values 9.95 mg l(-1)), whereas 1,8-cineole revealed no toxicity.

Chemical composition and larvicidal activity of essential oils from different Mentha L. and Pulegium species against Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae)

“…Moreover, as we ourselves have discovered, this species can also be grown in the climate of Central Europe with very good yields for the EO (1.6%). All papers published until the present have focused on the larvicidal efficacy of EO obtained from Mentha spp., and have presented results obtained from materials grown in climates different in terms of both temperature and precipitation (Tripathi et al 2004;Mohamed & Abdegaleil 2008;Koliopoulos et al 2010). As far as we know, this is the first study to demonstrate that good-quality plant materials suitable as a source of active substances for botanical larvicides can be obtained.…”

“…The significantly higher efficacy of piperitenone oxide alone confirms our hypothesis that this is the substance responsible for insecticidal effects. Koliopoulos et al (2010) tested piperitenone oxide for larvicidal efficacy against the Culex pipiens biotype molestus and estimated LC 50 as 9.95 mg/l. However, as far as we know, our study is the first to focus on the larvicidal efficacy of EO containing piperitenone oxide against Culex quinquefqsciatus larvae.…”

Pupicidal and repellent activities of Pogostemon cablin essential oil chemical compounds against medically important human vector mosquitoes

“…The phytochemicals derived from plant sources possess a complex of chemicals with unique biological activity. The phytochemicals derived from plant resources can act as larvicides, insect growth regulators, repellents, and ovipositional attractants, having deterrent activities observed by different researchers [7,8,9,10,11,12] . The use of scientifically proven non-chemical methods and limited use of drug is being considered as safety to environment and human health [13,14] .…”

Chemical composition of the essential oil and botanical study of the flowers ofMentha suaveolens

“…These include piperitone oxide (Hendriks et al, 1976;Holeman et al, 1985;Oumzil et al, 2002) and piperitenone oxide (Koliopoulos et al, 2010;Holeman et al, 1985;Oumzil et al, 2002;Sutour et al, 2010).…”