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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 #316589

Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Composition of the essential oil of pink chablis bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Durio') and its biological activity against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Author
item BLYTHE, EUGENE - Mississippi State University
item TABANCA, NURHAYAT - University Of Mississippi
item DEMIRCI, BETUL - Anadolu Universtiy
item Bernier, Ulrich
item Agramonte, Natasha
item ALI, ABBAS - University Of Mississippi
item HUSNU CAN BASER, K - King Saud University
item KHAN, IKHLAS - King Saud University

Submitted to: Natural Volatiles & Essential Oils
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/17/2014
Publication Date: 1/1/2015
Citation: Blythe, E.K., Tabanca, N., Demirci, B., Bernier, U.R., Agramonte, N.M., Ali, A., Husnu Can Baser, K., Khan, I.A. 2015. Composition of the essential oil of pink chablis bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Durio') and its biological activity against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Natural Volatiles & Essential Oils. 2(1):11-21.

Interpretive Summary: Scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology and University of Mississippi collaborated with researchers from Saudi Arabia and Turkey to identify chemicals in the oil of the Pink Chablis™ 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 was tested for its ability to kill and repel Yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti). The oil was only weakly toxic against mosquito larvae and was less repellent to mosquitoes than the known standard repellent, DEET. 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: Caryopteris ×clandonensis A. Simmonds ex C. H. Curtis 'Durio' Pink Chablis™, (Lamiaceae) a pink-flowered cultivar distinctive among the typically blue-flowered cultivars of bluebeard, is valued as a small, deciduous shrub in the landscape for its mounded growth habit, showy flower display in summer, and attractiveness to insect pollinators. As part of a broader research program examining aromatic compounds from ornamental species as natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals for control of insect pests, the essential oil of Pink Chablis™ bluebeard was investigated for its chemical composition and bioactivity as a repellent and larvicide against the yellow fever mosquito [Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae)]. Essential oil from the aerial parts of this mildly aromatic ornamental species was extracted by water distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The primary compounds in the essential oil were a-copaene (8.3%), limonene (7.2%), and d-cadinene (6.3%), followed by trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (4.6%), trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (4.5%), cis-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (4.0%), and hotrienol (3.8%). Against the yellow fever mosquito, the essential oil exhibited mild repellency compared to DEET (N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) as a reference standard. It exhibited weak activity as a mosquito larvicide.