RESUMO
Essential oils (EOs) are potential tools for controlling Musca domestica L. In a fumigant assay, M. domestica adults treated with Citrus sinensis EO (LC50=3.9mg/dm(3)), with (4R)(+)-limonene (95.1%) being its main component, died within 15min or less. The terpenes absorbed by the flies and their metabolites, analyzed using SPME fiber, were (4R)(+)-limonene (LC50=6.2mg/dm(3)), α-pinene (LC50=11.5mg/dm(3)), ß-pinene (LC50=6.4mg/dm(3)), and two new components, carveol (LC50=1122mg/dm(3)) and carvone (LC50=19mg/dm(3)), in a proportion of 50, 6.2, 12.5, 6.3 and 25%, respectively. Carveol and carvone were formed by oxidation of (4R)(+)-limonene mediated by cytochrome P450, as was suggested by a fumigation assay on flies previously treated with piperonyl butoxide, a P450 inhibitor. In this experiment, an increase in the toxicity of the EO and (4R)(+)-limonene was observed, as well as a lower production of carveol and carvone.
Assuntos
Citrus sinensis/química , Moscas Domésticas/efeitos dos fármacos , Inseticidas/farmacologia , Óleos Voláteis/farmacologia , Butóxido de Piperonila/farmacologia , Óleos de Plantas/farmacologia , Animais , Inibidores das Enzimas do Citocromo P-450 , Feminino , Inseticidas/química , Masculino , Estrutura Molecular , Óleos Voláteis/química , Butóxido de Piperonila/química , Óleos de Plantas/química , Terpenos/química , Terpenos/metabolismo , Terpenos/farmacologiaRESUMO
The development of Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, the fungus cultured by the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens was inhibited in vitro by synthetic compounds containing the piperonyl group. In addition, worker ants that were fed daily on an artificial diet to which these compounds were added had a higher mortality rate than the controls. The inhibition of the fungal growth increased with the size of the carbon side chain ranging from C1 through C8 and decreasing thereafter. 1-(3,4-Methylenedioxybenzyloxy)octane (compound 5) was the most active compound and inhibited the fungal development by 80% at a concentration of 15 micrograms ml-1. With worker ants the toxic effects started with compound 5 and increased with the number of carbons in the side chain. Thus, for the same concentration (100 micrograms ml-1) the mortality rates observed after 8 days of diet ingestion were 82%, 66% and 42%, for 1-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzyloxy)decane, 1-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzyloxy)dodecane and compound 5, respectively, whereas with commercial piperonyl butoxide the mortality was 68%. The latter compound, which is known as a synergist insecticide, was as inhibitory to the symbiotic fungus as the synthetic compound 5. The possibility of controlling these insects in the future using compounds that can target simultaneously both organisms is discussed.