title: Pediculicidal treatment using ethanol and Melia azedarach L.
abstract: Pediculosis is an infestation of the scalp caused by Pediculus humanus capitis, known as lice, which affects thousands of people throughout the world. Disease control is achieved by topical insecticides, whose indiscriminate use has led to the emergence of resistant populations of lice. Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae) is an Asian tree that is found in Brazil, where it is popularly known as cinnamon or santa-bárbara. This study aimed to evaluate a pediculicidal treatment, made from a hydroethanolic extract of M. azedarach, and to study the effect of extraction solvents (ethanol and water) on insect mortality. The chemical composition of crude extract was studied by gas chromatography, identifying 32 methyl esters of fatty acids, with esters of heneicosanoic, palmitic, and arachidic acids present in greatest abundance. The (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra suggested the presence of flavonoids and terpenes. Quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2) were isolated from the extract. The bioassay of pediculicidal activity shows that the M. azedarach extract had a pediculicidal activity, inducing the death of all lice faster than 1% permethrin, a topical insecticide commonly used to control lice.
authors.affiliation: Center of Medical Sciences and Pharmaceutical, UNIOESTE, Cascavel, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Ricardo
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rutkauskis
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jacomini
authors.forename: Livia Godinho
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Temponi
authors.forename: Maria Helena
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sarragiotto
authors.forename: Edson Antonio Alves
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Tereza Cristina Marinho
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Jorge
authors.forename: Tereza Cristina Marino
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Jorge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001681:Biological Assay; D001938:Brazil; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000188:drug therapy*; D031586:Melia azedarach / Q000737:chemistry*; D010374:Pediculus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D026023:Permethrin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D007306:Insecticides; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000431:Ethanol; D026023:Permethrin