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Chemical profile, characterization and acaricidal activity of essential oils of three plant species and their nanoemulsions against Tyrophagus putrescentiae, a stored-food mite

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Abstract

Essential oils of Ocimum basilicum (L.), Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.) and Achillea santolina (L.) were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (MS). Oil-in-water nanoemulsions (10% active ingredient) were prepared through a high-energy (ultrasonication) emulsification process. Nanoemulsions were characterized by viscosity, pH, thermodynamic stability, droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. The plant oils and their nanoemulsions showed considerable acaricidal activity against the mold mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae). In a contact toxicity bioassay and 48 h post treatment, O. basilicum oil was the most toxic, followed by A. fragrantissima and A. santolina, where LC50 values were 8.4, 14.1 and 21.8 µl/cm2, respectively. LC50 for benzyl benzoate, a standard acaricide was 9.8 µl/cm2. Upon fumigation, responses also varied according to the test oil. Based on the 48-h LC50 values, the same manner of activity was also observed, where O. basilicum was the most toxic followed by A. fragrantissima and A. santolina. When prepared as nanoemulsions (particle size from 78.5 to 104.6) and tested as fumigants, toxicity of the oils was increased drastically with LC50 values of 2.2, 4.7, and 9.6 µl/l air for O. basilicum, A. fragrantissima and A. santolina, respectively. The oils showed a moderate to strong residual acaricidal activity, where O. basilicum oil was the most effective. The results suggest that appropriate nanoemulsions containing the tested oils can be developed to control T. putrescentiae after the required toxicological assessments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Prof. Dr. Abdel Naieem Al-Assuity for the identification and authentication of the mite species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

    Basma A. Al-Assiuty & Mohamed E. Ageba

  2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr Elsheikh, 33516, Egypt

    Gomah E. Nenaah

  3. Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Najran University, Najran, 1988, Saudi Arabia

    Gomah E. Nenaah

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  1. Basma A. Al-Assiuty
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  2. Gomah E. Nenaah
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  3. Mohamed E. Ageba
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GN and BA conceived and designed the experiments. All authors conducted bioassays. GN achieved GC–Ms. All authors collected and analyzed data. GN and BA wrote the manuscript. All read and approved manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gomah E. Nenaah.

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Al-Assiuty, B.A., Nenaah, G.E. & Ageba, M.E. Chemical profile, characterization and acaricidal activity of essential oils of three plant species and their nanoemulsions against Tyrophagus putrescentiae, a stored-food mite. Exp Appl Acarol 79, 359–376 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00432-x

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