Leptospermum scoparium essential oil is a promising source of mosquito larvicide and its toxicity is enhanced by a biobased emulsifier

PLoS One. 2020 Feb 20;15(2):e0229076. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229076. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Synthetic pesticides are the cornerstone of vector-borne disease control, but alternatives are urgently needed to tackle the growing problem of insecticide resistance and concerns over environmental safety. Leptospermum scoparium J.R. Forst and G. Forst (manuka) essential oil and its four fractions were analyzed for chemical composition and toxicity against Aedes aegypti larvae. The use of bio-based amylose-N-1-hexadecylammonium chloride inclusion complexes (Hex-Am) as an emulsifier for L. scoparium essential oil was also investigated. Fraction 1 was inactive, fractions 2 (LC50 = 12.24 ppm) and 3 (LC50 = 20.58 ppm) were more toxic than the whole essential oil (LC50 = 47.97 ppm), and fraction 4 (LC50 = 35.87 ppm) had similar toxicity as the whole essential oil. Twenty-one chemical constituents were detected in L. scoparium essential oil compared to 16, 5, 19 and 25 chemical constituents in fractions, 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The two most dominant chemical constituents were calamenene (17.78%) and leptospermone (11.86%) for L. scoparium essential oil, calamenene (37.73%) and ledene (10.37%) for fraction 1, leptospermone (56.6%) and isoleptospermone (19.73) for fraction 2, cubenol (24.30%) and caryophyllene oxide (12.38%) for fraction 3, and γ-gurjunene (21.62%) and isoleptospermone (7.88%) for fraction 4. Alpha-pinene, ledene, and aromandendrene were 2-7 times less toxic than the whole essential suggesting that the toxicity of L. scoparium essential oil was either due to other chemical constituents that were not tested or due synergist interactions among chemical constituents. Leptospermum scoparium essential oil-Hex-Am emulsion (LC50 = 29.62) was more toxic than the whole essential oil. These findings suggest that L. scoparium essential oil is a promising source of mosquito larvicide and that Hex-Am is an excellent emulsifier for L. scoparium essential oil for use as a larvicide.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Emulsifying Agents / chemistry
  • Emulsions
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Insecticides / chemistry*
  • Insecticides / isolation & purification
  • Insecticides / pharmacology*
  • Leptospermum / chemistry*
  • Mosquito Control*
  • Oils, Volatile / chemistry*
  • Oils, Volatile / isolation & purification
  • Oils, Volatile / pharmacology*
  • Spectrum Analysis

Substances

  • Emulsifying Agents
  • Emulsions
  • Insecticides
  • Oils, Volatile

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. All authors are employed by the USDA. The specific roles of each author are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.