Insecticidal activities of cinnamic acid esters isolated from Ocimum gratissimum L. and Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn leaves against Tribolium castaneum Hebst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Thomas Buxton, Shiori Takahashi, Akpe Mary Eddy Doh, Joshua Baffoe-Ansah, Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Chul Sa Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pest management using botanicals has been widely practiced in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world in recent times. The natural compounds present in these botanicals are known to be responsible for the protection they offer against insect pests. Some of these compounds may act as single compounds to produce an effect or they may be synergistically effective. In the present study using a bioassay guided approach, two cinnamic acid derivatives, methyl cinnamate and sitosterol cinnamate, were isolated from the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum and Vitellaria paradoxa, respectively. RESULTS: The two cinnamic acid derivatives were found to show higher levels of insecticidal, larvicidal and larval growth inhibition activities against Tribolium castaneum. The LC50 of methyl cinnamate was determined to be 26.92 mg mL−1 (95% CL: 1.18.66–38.84 mg mL−1; slope ± SE: 2.84 ± 0.81) for the adult 8.31 mg mL−1 (95% CL: 2.39–28.83 mg mL−1; slope ± SE: 0.66 ± 0.28) for the larvae while the LC50 of sitosterol cinnamate was determined to be 6.92 mg mL−1 (95% CL: 3.97–12.06 mg mL−1; slope ± SE: 1.59 ± 0.12) the adult and 3.91 mg mL−1 (95% CL: 2.21–6.93 mg mL−1; slope ± SE: 1.52 ± 0.13) for the larvae. CONCLUSION: Generally, the susceptibility of adult T. castaneum to these cinnamic acid esters can be directly associated with the concentration as well as time of exposure to the compounds. The isolated compounds support the use of O. gratissimum and V. paradoxa as important botanicals for the management of storage pests.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)257-267
Number of pages11
JournalPest Management Science
Volume76
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2020

Keywords

  • bioactive compounds
  • bioassay
  • larvicidal activity
  • methyl cinnamate
  • sitosterol cinnamate
  • β -sitosterol

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