Interespecific hybridization of Eucalyptus spp. as a source of behaviorally active compounds against Aedes albopictus.

CECILIA NASPI; PAOLA A. GONZÁLEZ AUDINO; HÉCTOR M. MASUH

Vilnius

Congreso; International Congress of Chemical Ecology; 2012

International Society of Chemical Ecology

Studies on vector borne diseases, very important for public health, are centered in the development of new strategies based in arthropod pest control. Natural products are increasingly being used for this purpose, with the advantages of causing low environmental impact and less problems related to pesticide resistance. Dengue and yellow fever are human viral diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, principally Aedes aegypti (L.) and A. albopictus (Skuse) which are endemic in many tropical regions, included Latin America. Previous studies of our group have demonstrated that (S)-(-)-α-pinene, one of the major components in Eucalyptus essential oil, was active in Aedes Aegypti (Diptera). Essential oils from Eucalyptus hybrids were obtained by steam hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS using a chiral stationary phase. The essential oil was also fractionated by HPLC in reverse phase mode, with a photodiode array detector (HPLC-PDA). The aqueous fractions obtained were partitioned with hexane, concentrated and analyzed by GC-MS. All essential oils and extracts were analyzed for their electrophysiological activity. Gas chromatography coupled to electroantennography detection (GC-EAD) was performed in the same chiral stationary phase used before. Bioactive compounds that produce an electrophysiological response on Aedes albopictus antennae are reported here.