Insecticidal Properties of Peumus boldus Mol. Essential Oil on the House Fly, Musca domestica L.

ALEJANDRO URZÚA ; ROCIO SANTANDER ; JAVIER ECHEVERRIA ; CAROLINA VILLALOBOS ; SARA PALACIOS ; YANINA ROSSI

BOLETíN LATINOAMERICANO Y DEL CARIBE DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES Y AROMáTICAS

SOC FITOQUIMICA LATINOAMERICANA

Lugar: Santiago de Chile; Año: 2010 p. 465 - 469

0717-7917

The composition of the essential oil (EO) obtained by hydro distillation from dry leaves of Peumus boldus was analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). The insecticidal activity of the oil against the house fly Musca domestica was evaluated by placing flies in a sealed glass jar containing a piece of EO-treated cotton yarn. The dose necessary to kill 50% of flies (LC50) in 1 h was determined at 26±1°C. The essential oil from Peumus boldus showed potent insecticidal properties (LC50 = 6.26 mg/dm3). According to GC and GC/MS analysis, 1,8-cineol (36.72%); p-cymene(26.79%); ascaridol (6.25%); sabinene (5.10%); 4-terpineol (4.39%); β-pinene (4.16%) and limonene (2.68%) were the principal components of the EO. The EO from Peumus boldus seems promising as a natural insecticide against houseflies. The peumus boldus essential oil reported in this paper is different to that reported in other publications. .The most important differences are the low content of ascaridol and the high content of both 1,8-cineol and p-cimene which can be attributed to the time of year and the geographic location of the samples plants.