title: Production of (5R,6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide, the mosquito oviposition pheromone, from the seed oil of the summer cypress plant, Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae).
abstract: The oviposition pheromone for the pathogen-vectoring mosquitoes in the genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae), that is, (5R, 6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide, is efficiently synthesized, in admixture with the inactive (5S,6R) enantiomer ( approximately 33% w/w), from the fixed oil extracted from the seeds of the summer cypress plant, Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae), cultivated on an industrial scale. Oviposition bioassays using gravid females of Culex quinquefasciatus, a vector of filariasis in human beings, showed that the product was attractive, with activity comparable to that of a pure synthetic sample containing the same amount of the active enantiomer. Production of the pheromone in the form of a biologically active crude material via a cheap and renewable plant suitable for development as a new industrial crop provides the basis for control of Cx. quinquefasciatus and other congeneric vectors of pathogens in resource-poor areas of the world.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Olagbemiro
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Birkett
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mordue (Luntz)
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pickett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D019663:Chenopodiaceae; D003465:Culex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010058:Oviposition / Q000187:drug effects*; D010675:Pheromones / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D011753:Pyrones / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones; D010938:Plant Oils; D011753:Pyrones; C091336:6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide