Plants of the genus Aristolochia have been frequently reported as important medicinal plants. Despite their high bioactive potential, to date, there are no reports of their effects on leaf-cutting ants. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the insecticidal activity of the essential oil of Aristolochia trilobata and its major components on Atta sexdens and Acromyrmex balzani, two species of leaf-cutting ants. The bioassays were performed regarding routes of exposure, acute toxicity, binary mixtures of the major components and behavioral effects. Twenty-five components were identified in the essential oil of A. trilobata using a gas chromatographic system equipped with a mass spectrometer and a flame ionization detector. The components found in higher proportions were sulcatyl acetate, limonene, p-cymene and linalool. The essential oil of A. trilobata and its individual major components were efficient against A. balzani and A. sexdens workers when applied by fumigation. These components showed fast and efficient insecticidal activity on ants. The components acted synergistically and additively on A. balzani and A. sexdens, respectively, and caused a strong repellency/irritability in the ants. Thus, our results demonstrate the great potential of the essential oil of A. trilobata and its major components for the development of new insecticides.
植物属阿魏草(Aristolochia)的植物常被报道为重要的药用植物。尽管它们具有很高的
生物活性潜力,但迄今为止,尚无关于它们对采叶蚁的影响的报告。因此,本研究的目的是评估阿魏草(Aristolochia trilobata)精油及其主要成分对两种采叶蚁(Atta sexdens 和 Acromyrmex balzani)的杀虫活性。
生物测定实验涉及暴露途径、急性毒性、主要成分的二元混合物和行为影响。使用配备质谱仪和火焰离子化检测器的气相色谱系统,鉴定了阿魏草精油中的25个成分。发现含量较高的成分包括苯
乙酰乙酸酯(sulcatyl acetate)、
柠檬烯(limonene)、
对氟甲苯(p-cymene)和
香叶醇(linalool)。阿魏草的精油及其各个主要成分在熏蒸方式下对A. balzani和A. sexdens工蚁表现出良好的效果。这些成分对蚂蚁显示出快速有效的杀虫活性。不同成分在A. balzani和A. sexdens上表现出协同和叠加作用,并导致蚂蚁产生强烈的排斥/刺激反应。因此,我们的研究结果表明阿魏草精油及其主要成分在开发新型
杀虫剂方面具有极大的潜力。