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Toxicity and repellence of Taiwanese indigenous djulis, Chenopodium formosaneum, against Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Forcipomyia taiwana (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

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Abstract

The biological activity of djulis (Chenopodium formosaneum) extracts was evaluated against mosquitoes and biting midges. Djulis extracts were relatively nontoxic to Aedes albopictus larvae. However, they showed interesting repellence against adult mosquitoes as estimated by the median effective dosages (ED50). ED50 values for djulis extracts against mosquito adults in descending order were: seed extracted with methanol (0.83 %), seed extracted with dichloromethane (0.66 %), leaf extracted with methanol (0.50 %), and leaf extracted with dichloromethane (0.40 %). Field tests also suggested that djulis methanol extracts were effective at about a 1 % level against biting midges (Forcipomyia taiwana). A total of 15 and 20 compounds accounting for 88.8 and 79.9 % in the seed and leaf extract, respectively were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Among these, 9, 12-octadecadienoyl chloride, (Z, Z) was found in both as well as being the major constituent in the leaf extract (35.7 %). Further studies on the repellent property of the extracts against mosquitoes and biting midges are warranted.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. J. C. Lin for his efforts to guide us to the field and collect the djulis leave for us. This species was later identified as C. formosaneum (Koidz) by Prof. Y. P. Yang in the Department of Biological Sciences in National Sun Yat-Sen University. The djulis seed was a gift from Dr. K. C. Kao at BAPHIQ, Taiwan. We thank Ms. S. H. Huang who maintained the mosquito colony and provided assistance. Finally, a research grant (NSC-97-2811-B-002-006 & 97-2321-B-002-013-MY3) from the National Science Council, The Executive Yuan, Taiwan, ROC is kindly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Lane 113, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan, ROC

    Eddie Hang Chio, En-Cheng Yang, Hsiang-Ting Huang, Err-Lieh Hsu, Chi-Rong Chen, Chin-Gi Huang & Rong-Nan Huang

  2. Research Center for Plant-Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan, ROC

    Rong-Nan Huang

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  1. Eddie Hang Chio
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  2. En-Cheng Yang
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  3. Hsiang-Ting Huang
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  4. Err-Lieh Hsu
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  5. Chi-Rong Chen
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  6. Chin-Gi Huang
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Correspondence to Rong-Nan Huang.

Additional information

Communicated by M. B. Isman.

Eddie Hang Chio and En Cheng Yang contributed equally to this study.

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Chio, E.H., Yang, EC., Huang, HT. et al. Toxicity and repellence of Taiwanese indigenous djulis, Chenopodium formosaneum, against Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Forcipomyia taiwana (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). J Pest Sci 86, 705–712 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-013-0500-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-013-0500-3

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