Sensitivity of Aedes aegypti adults (Diptera: culicidae) to the vapors of Eucalyptus essential oils and 1,8-cineole

LUCIA A., LICASTRO, S., ZERBA, E & MASUH

New Orleans, Louisiana - USA

Congreso; 75 th AMCA Annual Meeting and 19 th Latin American Symposium; 2009

American Mosquito Control Association - USA

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:ES-AR; mso-no-proof:yes;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Vapours of essential oils extracted from various species of Eucalyptus (E. gunnii, E. tereticornis, E. grandis, E. camaldulensis, E. dunnii, E. cinerea, E. saligna, E. sideroxylon, E. globulus ssp globulus, E. globulus ssp maidenii, E. viminalis and the hybrids E. grandis x E. tereticornis and E. grandis x E. camaldulensis) and their major components were found to be toxic to Aedes aegypti (L.) adults, the yellow fever mosquito.             A 10 ml aliquot of each oil was placed in a cillindrical test chamber and the number of knocked-down mosquitoes was recorded as function of time. Knock-down time 50% was then calculated. Results showed that E. viminalis had a high knock-down activity of 4.2 min, in the same order as Dichlorvos, a standard a knock-down agent. A correlation was observed between the content of 1,8-cineole in the Eucalyptus essential oils and the corresponding toxic effect. Regression analysis also showed a statistically significant relationship between KT50 values and the inverse function of vapour pressures (1/Vp) of the different essential oil components.             The results of the present study show that 1,8-cineole and Eucalyptus essential oils with an elevated concentration of this monoterpene present a high knock down activity against Aedes aegypti. Therefore, these compounds are a promising alternative with a low environmental impact for controlling the yellow fever mosquito.