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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #370050
Research Project: Green Biopesticides: Identification

Location: Natural Products Utilization Research

Title: Biting deterrency of Undecanoic acid and Dodecanoic acid ester analogs against Aedes aegypti

Author
item Cantrell, Charles
item ZAKI, MOHAMED - University Of Mississippi
item Reichley, Amber
item Sink, Matthew
item Kim, Seong
item ALI, ABBAS - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/2/2020
Publication Date: 7/10/2020
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/7071220
Citation: Cantrell, C.L., Zaki, M., Reichley, A.C., Kim, S.J. Sink, M.C., Ali, A. 2020. Biting deterrency of Undecanoic acid and Dodecanoic acid ester analogs against Aedes aegypti. Pest Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5994.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5994

Interpretive Summary: Mosquitoes remain one of the most significant threats to the health of humans throughout the world. Mosquito vectored diseases such Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria remain serious public health threats. Management of such disease-causing vectors usually involves a variety of approaches with the use of repellents often being a first choice for many consumers. Such vector control measures are extremely successful in controlling the spread of mosquito-borne diseases; however, as we see more insecticide-resistance in many wild mosquito populations it becomes clear that additional insecticides and repellents are needed. Fatty acids and their analogs have been demonstrated in the past to possess repellent activity equivalent to DEET. In this study we evaluated the biting deterrent effects of a series of ester analogs of undecanoic (C:11:0) and dodecanoic acids (C:12:0) against the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L), (Diptera: Culicidae), using Klun and Debboun (K&D) and Ali and Khan (A&K) bioassay systems. In the in-vitro A&K bioassay undecanoic acid with a minimum effective dose (MED) of 3.125 µg/cm2 was the most active compound and showed higher activity than DEET. The most active synthetic analog was butyl undecanoate with an MED of 12.5 µg/cm2.

Technical Abstract: In this study we evaluated the biting deterrent effects of a series of ester analogs of undecanoic and dodecanoic acids against the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L), (Diptera: Culicidae), using Klun and Debboun (K&D) and Ali and Khan (A&K) bioassay systems. In the K&D bioassays, C:11:0 esters methyl undecanoate, propyl undecanoate, butyl undecanoate, and pentyl undecanoate, and the C:12:0 esters methyl dodecanoate, ethyl dodecanoate, propyl dodecanoate, octyl dodecanoate, and dodecyl dodecanoate were most active. All esters were as effective as DEET and as effective as the parent acids undecanoic acid and dodecanoic acid with biting deterrence index (BDI) values ranging from 0.80 to 0.99. In the in-vitro A&K bioassay undecanoic acid with a minimum effective dose (MED) of 3.125 µg/cm2 was the most active compound and showed higher activity than DEET. The next most active compound was butyl undecanoate with an MED of 12.5 µg/cm2. The next most active analogs are the methyl ester analogs methyl undecanoate and methyl dodecanoate both with MED values of 25 µg/cm2.