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Abstract
Curcumin, a secondary metabolite widely found in plants was incorporated in the artificial diet of melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) at 5, 25, 125, 625 and 3125 ppm concentrations to study its influence on the development and physiology of this pest. Water was used as a control. The larval period and total developmental period were prolonged while percent pupation, pupal weight and percent emergence decreased in the first and second larval instar. The analysis of antioxidant enzymes at three treatment intervals (24, 48 and 72 h) revealed an increase in activity of superoxide dismutase and phenol oxidase at most treatment intervals while the enzymatic activity of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase and peroxidases decreased at almost all treatment intervals. The findings revealed growth retarding and negative effects of curcumin on the first and second instar larvae of B. cucurbitae.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.