Abstract
Thirteen simple phenols and 8 phenolic acids were tested for toxicity to Culex quinquefasciatus larvae and Musca domestica adults. It was found that while the phenolic acids (except salicylic acid) showed little or no effect on acute toxicity, all the tested simple phenols caused mortality within 24 h after application. Lethal doses for acute toxicity of C. quinquefasciatus were successfully estimated for 12 substances using probit analysis. Thymol, carvacrol, 2-ethylphenol, and salicylaldehyde showed significantly the highest efficiency, for which the lethal doses LD50 were estimated as 30, 36, 38, and 43 μg/ml, respectively. Lethal doses for acute toxicity of M. domestica adults were successfully estimated for ten substances. Thymol, carvacrol, and 2,6-dimethoxyphenol showed significantly the highest efficiency, for which the lethal doses LD50 were estimated 53, 69, and 87 μg/fly, respectively.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott WS (1925) A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. J Econ Entomol 18:265–267
Al-Bayati FA (2008) Synergistic antibacterial activity between Thymus vulgaris and Pimpinella anisum essential oils and methanol extracts. J Ethnopharmacol 116:403–406
Amer A, Mehlhorn H (2006) Larvicidal effects of various essential oils against Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex larvae (Diptera, Culicidae). Parasitol Res 99:466–472
Baker KH (2008) Biological and pharmacological activities of carvacrol and carvacrol bearing essential oils. Curr Pharm Des 14:3106–3119
Bakkali F, Averbeck S, Averbeck D, Idaomar M (2008) Biological effects of essential oils—a review. Food Chem Toxicol 46:446–475
Banjo AD, Lawal OA, Adeduji OO (2005) Bacteria and fungi isolated from housefly (Musca domestica L.) larva. Afr J Biotechnol 4:780–784
Bloomquist JR (2003) Chloride channels as tools for developing selective insecticides. Arch Insect Biochem Physiol 54:145–156
Bruneton J (1999) Pharmacognosy: phytochemistry medicinal plants, 2nd edn. Intercept, London, Paris and New York, 1119
Chandre F, Darriet F, Darder M, Cuany A, Doannio JMC, Pasteur N, Guillet P (1998) Pyrethroid-resistance in Culex quinquefasciatus from West Africa. Med Vet Entomol 12:359–366
Corbel V, Duchon S, Zaim M, Hougard JM (2004) Dinotefuran: a potential neonicotinoid insecticide against resistant mosquitoes. J Med Entomol 41:712–717
Finney DJ (1971) Probit Analysis. Cambridge University Press, London
Grubel P, Hoffman JS, Chong FK, Burstein NA, Mepani C, Cave DR (1997) Vector potential of houseflies (Musca domestica) for Helicobacter pylori. J Clin Microbiol 35:1300–1303
Huang Y, Ho S-H, Lee H-C, Yap Y-L (2002) Insecticidal properties of eugenol, isoeugenol and methyleugenol and their effects on nutrition of Sitophilus zeamais Motsch. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). J Stored Prod Res 38:403–412
Hummelbrunner LA, Isman MB (2001) Acute, sublethal, antifeedant, and synergistic effects of monoterpenoid essential oil compounds on the tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Lep., Noctuidae). J Agric Food Chem 49:715–720
Isman MB (2006) Botanical insecticides, deterrent, and repellent in modern agriculture and increasingly regulated world. Ann Rev Entomol 51:45–66
Ketonok IAF, Chicherin IUV (1977) Houseflies (M. domestica) as transmitters of the agent of cholera. Zhurnal Mikrobiologii. Epidemiol Immunobiol 12:23–27
Kobayashi M, Sasaki T, Saito N, Tamura K, Suzuki K, Watanabe H, Agui N (1999) Houseflies: not simple mechanical vectors of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7. Am J Trop Med Hyg 61:625–629
Kokošková B, Pavela R (2007) Effectiveness of plant essential oil on the growth of Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight disease. Pest Technol 1:76–80
Koul O (2005) Insect antifeedants. CRC Press, Bota Racon
Lee S, Tsao R, Peterson C, Coast JR (1997) Insecticidal activity of monoterpenoids to western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrycomelidae), two spotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae), and house fly (Diptera: Muscidae). J Econ Entomol 90:883–892
Lowrie RJ, Eberhard M, Lammie P, Raccurt C, Katz S, Duverseau Y (1989) Uptake and development of Wuchereria bancrofti in Culex quinquefasciatus that fed on Haitian carriers with different microfilaria densities. Am J Trop Med Hyg 41:429–435
Manou I, Bouillard L, Devleeschouwer MJ, Barel AO (1998) Evaluation of the preservative properties of Thymus vulgaris essential oil in topically applied formulations under a challenge test. J Appl Microbiol 84:368–376
Monteiro MV, De Melo Leite AK, Bertini LM, De Morais SM, Nunes-Pinheiro DC (2000) Topical anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and antioxidant effects of the essential oil of Lippia sidoides Cham. leaves. J Ethnopharmacol 111:378–382
Muturi EJ, Jakob BG, Kim CH, Mnoho CM, Novak RJ (2008) Are co infections of malaria and filariasis of any epidemiological significance? Parasitol Res 102:175–181
Park BS, Choi WS, Kim JH, Kim KH, Lee SE (2005) Monoterpenes from thyme (Thymus vulgaris) as potential mosquito repellents. J Am Mosq Contr Assoc 21:80–83
Pavela R (2005) Insecticidal activity of some essential oils against larvae of Spodoptera littoralis. Fitoterapia 76:691–696
Pavela R (2007a) Possibilities of botanical insecticide exploitation in plant protection. Pest Technol 1:47–52
Pavela R (2007b) Lethal and sublethal effects of thyme oil (Thymus vulgaris L.) on the house fly (Musca domestica Lin.). Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants 10:346–356
Pavela R (2008a) Insecticidal properties of several essential oils on house fly (Musca domestica L.). Phytother Res 22:274–278
Pavela R (2008b) Acute and synergistic effects of some monoterpenoid essential oil compounds on the house fly (Musca domestica L.). Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants 11:451–459
Pavela R (2009) Larvicidal property of essential oils against Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae). Ind Crop Prod 30:311–315
Pavela R, Vrchotová N, Triska J (2009) Mosquitocidal activities of thyme oils (Thymus vulgaris L.) against Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 105:1365–1370
Priestley CM, Williamson EM, Wafford KA, Satelle DB (2003) Thymol, a constituent of thyme essential oil, is a positive allosteric modulator of human GABAA receptors and a homo-oligomeric GABA receptor from Drosophila melanogaster. Br J Pharmacol 140:1363
Rajasekariah GR, Parab PB, Chandrashekar R, Deshpande L, Subrahmanyan D (1991) Pattern of Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaraemia in young and adolescent school children in Bessein, India, an endemic area for lymphatic filariasis. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 85:663–665
Rajkumar S, Jebanesan A (2005) Scientific note: oviposition deterrent and skin repellent activities of Solanum trilobatum leaf extract against the malarial vector Anopheles stephensi. J Insect Sci 5:15
Rattan RS (2010) Mechanism of action of insecticidal secondary metabolites of plant origin. Crop Protect 29:913–920
Rohani A, Chu WL, Saadiyah I, Lee HL, Phang SM (2001) Insecticide resistance status of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti collected from urban and rural in major towns of Malaysia. Trop Biomed 18:29–39
Ruberto G, Baratta M (2000) Antioxidant activity of selected essential oil components in two lipid model systems. Food Chem 69:167–174
Shalaby AA, Allam KAM, Mostafa AA, Fahmy SME (1998) Insecticidal properties of citrus oils against Culex pipens and Musca domestica. J Egypt Soc Parasitol 28:595–606
Singh G, Upadhyay RK (1993) Essential oils a potent source of natural pesticides. J Sci Ind Res 52:676–683
Ultee A, Kets EP, Smid EJ (1999) Mechanisms of action of carvacrol on the food-borne pathogen Bacillus cereus. Appl Environ Microbiol 65:4606–4610
WHO (1996) Report of the WHO informal consultation on the evaluation and testing of insecticides. CTD/WHOPES/IC/96.1
Yanishlieva N, Marinova EM, Gordon MH, Raneva VG (1999) Antioxidant activity and mechanism of action of thymol and carvacrol in two lipid systems. Food Chem 64:59–66
Yen T-B, Chang S-T (2008) Synergistic effects of cinnamaldehyde in combination with eugenol against wood decay fungi. Bioresource Technology 99:232–236
Žabka M, Pavela R, Gabrielová L (2009) Antifungal effect of Pimenta dioica essential oil against dangerous pathogenic and toxinogenic fungi. Ind Crop Prod 30:250–253
Zaridah MZ, Nor Azah MA, Rohani A (2006) Mosquitocidal activities of Malaysian plants. J Trop Forest Sci 18:74–80
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (ME09079 and LH11133).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pavela, R. Insecticidal properties of phenols on Culex quinquefasciatus Say and Musca domestica L. Parasitol Res 109, 1547–1553 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2395-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2395-3