Tea, coffee, and cocoa as ultraviolet radiation protectants for the beet armyworm nucleopolyhedrovirus.
The addition of 1% (wt:vol) aqueous extracts of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) (Malvales: Malvaceae), coffee (Coffea arabica L.) (Gentianales: Rubiaceae), and green and black tea (Camellia sinensis L.) (Ericales: Theaceae) provided excellent UV radiation protection for the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), nucleopolyhedrovirus under laboratory conditions. Aqueous extracts of coffee, green tea, and black tea at 0.5% provided 85-100% UV protection, whereas cocoa provided 50% UV protection. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a component of green tea, and caffeine, a component of tea and coffee, also were tested as UV protectants. Both compounds were ineffective when tested alone. When EGCG and caffeine were combined, UV protection increased in a synergistic manner, but <35% of the original virus activity was maintained. This study demonstrated that coffee was comparable to green tea and black tea as a UV protectant. Further studies should be conducted to optimize their use in biopesticide formulations.
El-Salamouny
S
S
Clemson University Coastal Research & Education Center, 2700 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29414, USA.
Ranwala
D
D
Shapiro
M
M
Shepard
B M
BM
Farrar
Robert R
RR
D000818:Animals; D002099:Cacao; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D003069:Coffee; D017924:Nucleopolyhedroviruses / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000821:virology*; D013662:Tea; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D003069:Coffee; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; D013662:Tea; D002110:Caffeine; D002392:Catechin; C045651:epigallocatechin gallate