Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #301067

Title: Chemical composition, larvicidal, and biting deterrent activity of essential oils of two subspecies of Tanacetum argenteum (Asterales: Asteraceae) and individual constituents against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Author
item ALI, ABBAS - University Of Mississippi
item TABANCA, NURHAYA - University Of Mississippi
item KURKCUGLU, MINE - University Of Mississippi
item DURAN, AHMET - University Of Mississippi
item BLYTHE, EUGENE - University Of Mississippi
item KHAN, IKHLAS - University Of Mississippi
item CAN BASER, K. HUSNU - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2014
Publication Date: 6/1/2014
Citation: Ali, A., Tabanca, N., Kurkcuglu, M.K., Duran, A., Blythe, E., Khan, I.A., Can Baser, K. 2014. Chemical composition, larvicidal, and biting deterrent activity of essential oils of two subspecies of Tanacetum argenteum (Asterales: Asteraceae) and individual constituents against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. 51(4):824-830.

Interpretive Summary: The genus Tanacetum, commonly known as “tansy”, belongs to the family Asteraceae of the order Asterales. Plants from this genus have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of arthritis, fever, migraine, menstrual disorders, stomachache, toothache, and insect bites. This genus is found worldwide. Tanacetum argenteum (Lam.) Willd. has three subspecies; (i) T. argenteum (Lam.) Willd. subsp. argenteum, (ii) T. argenteum (Lam.) Willd. subsp. flabellifolium (Boiss. & Heldr.) Grierson, and (iii) T. argenteum (Lam.) Willd. subsp. canum (C. Koch) Grierson. Previous studies reported the antifeedant activity of MeOH extract of aerial parts of T. cadmeum subsp. cadmeum, and MeOH extract of T. corymbosum subsp. cinereum flowers against Spodoptera littoralis. Essential oil of Tanacetum vulgare is reported to show larvicidal activity against C. quinquefasciatus Say. The insecticidal properties of essential oils of T. argenteum subsp. argenteum and T. argenteum subsp canum against mosquitoes are not fully known. This study was designed to determine the chemical composition, larvicidal and biting deterrent activity of essential oils of two subspecies of T. argenteum and their individual compounds against yellow fever mosquito, Ae. aegypti.

Technical Abstract: Water distilled essential oils from the air dried aerial parts of Tanacetum argenteum (Lam.) Willd. subsp. argenteum (Lam.) and T. argenteum (Lam.) Willd. subsp. canum (C. Koch) Grierson were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty-seven and 32 components were identified representing 97.2% and 98.7% of essential oils of subspecies argenteum and canum, respectively. The main compounds of T. argenteum subsp. argenteum were alpha-pinene (67.9%) and beta-pinene (4.8%), whereas '-pinene (53.6%), 1,8-cineole (14.8%) and camphor (4.7%) were the major constituents of T. argenteum subsp. canum. In biting deterrent bioassays, essential oil of Tanacetum argenteum subsp. canum at 10 µg/cm2 showed activity similar to DEET at 25 mol/cm2 whereas the activity of essential oil of T. argenteum ssp. argenteum was lower than subsp. canum and DEET. Based on 95% CI’s, activity of ß-caryophyllene was similar to DEET at 25 nmol/cm2. Caryophyllene oxide with the BDI value of 0.66 was active but the activity was significantly lower than DEET. All the other pure compounds showed lower activity than DEET. In larval bioassays, essential oil of T. argenteum subsp. argenteum showed LC50 value of 93.34 ppm, whereas T. argenteum subsp. canum killed only 40% of the larvae at the highest dose of 125 ppm. Among the pure compounds, ß-caryophyllene (LC50=26 ppm) was the most potent compound followed by caryophyllene oxide (LC50 =29 ppm) which was also similar to (-)-ß-pinene (LC50 =35.9 ppm) against 1-d-old Ae. aegypti larvae at 24-h post treatment. Compounds (-)-a-pinene and (+)-ß-pinene showed similar larvicidal activity. Activity of (+)-a-pinene was similar to the essential oil of T. argenteum subsp. argenteum.