Open Access

ARTICLE

Antifeedant Activity of Caesalpinia coriaria Essential Oil Against Incisitermes marginipennis (Latreille)

by Cesar B. Ramírez-López^1,2, Rita Beltrán-Sánchez¹, Alistair Hernández-Izquierdo¹, José Luis Salvador-Hernández¹, Eduardo Salcedo-Pérez², Rosa E. del Río¹, Mauro M. Martínez Pacheco^1,*

1 Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, 58030, Mexico
2 Departamento de Botánica y Zoología, CUCBA Universidad de Guadalajara, Nextipac, 45200, Mexico

* Corresponding Author: Mauro M. Martínez Pacheco. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Plant Secondary Metabolites: Recent Advances and Opportunities)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2021, 90(3), 907-920. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.013775

Received 20 August 2020; Accepted 06 November 2020; Issue published 30 March 2021

Abstract

This study scrutinized the possibility of finding toxicant or deterrent plant metabolites against the dry wood termite Incisitermes marginipennis (Latreille). Plant deterrent agents act as repellents or antifeedants to prevent wood decay and increase its useful life. The potential of the tree Caesalpinia coriaria (Fabaceae) as a biological source of molecules with deterrent effects against the dry wood termite was assessed by a phytochemical fractionation guided by repellence and antifeedant activities. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the leaf essential oil showed geraniol to be one of the major components and its repellent and antifeedant effects were determined. Geraniol had only an antifeedant effect without affecting the body weight or survival of the dry wood termite. Unlike the leaf essential oil, geraniol did not exhibit a repellency effect. An in-silico approach of the activity of acetylcholinesterase in interaction with geraniol resulted in an affinity energy of −7.5 Kcal/mol. Geraniol interacted with the amino acid tyrosine 324 located in the enzyme’s active site while citronellol (negative control) interacted with tryptophan 83 located adjacent to the active site. These deterring terpenes have not been implemented for the preservation and restoration of wood products exposed to the attack of the dry wood termite. However, they are an important natural control alternative.

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