title: Screening of Uruguayan plants for deterrent activity against insects.
abstract: We evaluated the anti-insectan activity of extracts from different vegetative parts of ten plant species native to Uruguay. The selected plants belong to five families: Bignoniaceae: Clytostoma callistegioides, Dolichandra cynanchoides, Macfadyena unguis-cati; Sapindaceae: Dodonaea viscosa, Allophylus edulis, Serjania meridionalis; Lamiaceae: Salvia procurrens, Salvia guaranitica; Solanaceae: Lycium cestroides; and Phytolaccaceae: Phytolacca dioica. The extracts were evaluated in independent bioassays against four insect pests and one beneficial insect. Aphid settling inhibition was evaluated with a grass specialist, Rhopalosiphum padi, and a feeding generalist, Myzus persicae (both Hemiptera: Aphididae). Antifeedant activity was tested with adults of the specialist Epilachna paenulata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and larvae of the generalist Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Finally, contact toxicity was assessed with honey bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Strong settling inhibition (SI) activity (expressed as %SI, where 100% means complete inhibition by the extract) was found only for the twig extracts of A. edulis (Sapindaceae) against M. persicae (% SI = 77 +/- 4). Antifeedant activity (expressed as % of feeding reduction (FR), where 100% means no consumption on extract-treated diet) against E. paenulata was significant for the leaf extracts of L. cestroides (Solanaceae) (% FR = 100 +/- 0) as well as of all Bignoniaceae and Sapindaceae species. No extracts were active against S. littoralis larvae, and most of them were innocuous to honey bees, with the exception of L. cestroides and S. meridionalis leaf extracts.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Ecología Química, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República. Gral. Flores 2124 CP 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: Azucena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Coloma
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alonso-Paz
authors.forename: María Julia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bassagoda
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rossini