Insecticidal Activity of Three Species of <i>Guatteria</i> (Annonaceae) Against <i>Aedes Aegypti</i> (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

The products of vegetal origin were assessed for bioactive substances to reduce reliance on organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides, to which insect populations have become resistant. For this reason the aim of this study was to assess whether the essential oils of Guatteria hispida , G. blepharophylla and G. friesiana have insecticidal effect against A. aegypti under laboratory conditions. Essential oils were extracted through hydrodistillation using a modified Clevenger apparatus and analyzed by Gas Chromatography (CG-FID), Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). The bioassays were analyzed according to the Probit model. The GC-MS and NMR analyses confirmed that the leaves of G. blepharophylla have the caryophyllene oxide as their main component; in G. friesiana the α-,β- and γ-eudesmols prevail, and in G. hispida α- and β-pinene, and (E)-caryophyllene are the predominant compounds. The lethal concentrations LC 50 , LC 95 and LC 99 , were respectively 85.74, 199.35 and 282.76ppm for G. hispida ; 58.72, 107.6 and 138.37ppm for G. blepharophylla ; and 52.6, 94.37 and 120.22ppm for G. friesiana . The oil extracted from G. friesiana presented the best insecticidal effect.