Abstract
In the course of our search for natural bioactive chemicals and investigations on their insecticidal activities from some medicinal plants growing in China, the essential oil derived from the twigs of Zanthoxylum armatum (Rutaceae) was found to possess strong insecticidal activities against two stored-product insects, Lasioderma serricorne and Tribolium castaneum. A total of 32 constituents of the essential oil were identified by GC and GC-MS analysis, and it revealed (E)-anethole (20.5%), 1,8-cineole (14.0%), 2-tridecanone (12.5%), limonene (9.0%) and piperitone (8.0%) as major components, followed by β-phellandrene (6.3%), β-pinene (5.1%) and 4-terpineol (4.4%). From the essential oil, five compounds were isolated and identified as (E)-anethole, 1,8-cineole, 2-tridecanone, limonene and piperitone. The results of insecticidal bioassays showed that the essential oil of Z. armatum exhibited strong fumigant toxicity towards L. serricorne and T. castaneum with LC50 values of 13.83 and 4.28 mg/L air, respectively, and also possessed contact toxicity against two insect species with LD50 values of 18.74 and 32.16 μg/adult, respectively. Among the active compounds, piperitone performed the strongest fumigant toxicity against L. serricorne (LC50 = 1.21 mg/L air) and contact toxicity against T. castaneum (LD50 = 3.16 μg/adult). 1,8-Cineole, limonene and piperitone showed similar fumigant toxicity against T. castaneum with LC50 values of 5.47, 6.21 and 7.12 mg/L air, respectively. Meanwhile, L. serricorne was the most sensitive to 2-tridecanone (LD50 = 5.74 μg/adult) in the progress of contact toxicity assay.
