Phoenix dactylifera L. spathe essential oil: chemical composition and repellent activity against the yellow fever mosquito.
Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecaceae), grows commonly in the Arabian Peninsula and is traditionally used to treat various diseases. The aim of the present study was to identify chemical composition of the essential oil and to investigate the repellent activity. The essential oil of P. dactylifera was obtained by hydrodistillation from the spathe, a specialized leaf structure that surrounds the pollinating organs of the palm. The oil was subsequently analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The oil showed promising repellent activity against yellow fever mosquito - Aedes aegypti. Sixteen components were characterized, constituting 99% of the oil. The main components were 3,4-dimethoxytoluene (73.5%), 2,4-dimethoxytoluene (9.5%), β-caryophyllene (5.5%), p-cresyl methyl ether (3.8%), and caryophyllene oxide (2.4%). The minimum effective dosage (MED) for repellency for the P. dactylifera oil was 0.051mg/cm(2), which had moderately lower potency compared to reference standard N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide, DEET (0.018mg/cm(2)) in the "cloth patch assay". The five major compounds were individually assayed for repellency to determine to what extent each is responsible for repellency from the oil. 3,4-Dimethoxytoluene and 2,4-dimethoxytoluene showed the best repellent activity with the same MED value of 0.063mg/cm(2), respectively. The results indicate that these two constituents which comprise a large proportion of the P. dactylifera oil (83%) are likely responsible for the observed repellent activity. In this aspect, the P. dactylifera spathe oil is a sustainable, promising new source of natural repellents.
Department of Pharmacognosy, Anadolu University, Faculty of Pharmacy, 26470 Eskisehir, Turkey.
Betül
B
Demirci
Maia
M
Tsikolia
Ulrich R
UR
Bernier
Natasha M
NM
Agramonte
Saleh I
SI
Alqasoumi
Mohammed A
MA
Al-Yahya
Adnan J
AJ
Al-Rehaily
Hasan S
HS
Yusufoglu
Fatih
F
Demirci
K Hüsnü Can
KH
Başer
Ikhlas A
IA
Khan
Nurhayat
N
Tabanca
D000330:Aedes / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D028023:Arecaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007303:Insect Vectors; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
D007302:Insect Repellents; D009822:Oils, Volatile
2,4-Dimethoxytoluene; 3,4-Dimethoxytoluene; Aedes aegypti; Botanical repellent; Mosquito control