Chemical composition and acaricidal activity of the essential oils of Piper marginatum and Piper callosum collected in the Amazon region

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical profile and acaricidal activity against the mite Suidasia pontifica of the essential oils from leaves of Piper marginatum Jacq and aerial parts (branches, leaves, and inflorescences) of Piper callosum Ruiz & Pav. From the aerial parts (branches, leaves and inflorescences) of P. callosum, three different essential oils were extracted with variations in the contents of their chemical constituents. The major compounds in the essential oil of P. marginatum were δ-3-carene and (E)-β-ocimene, while safrole was the predominant compound in the essential oils of P. callosum. Concentrations of 4 μL/L of the essential oil of P. marginatum and 2 μL/L of the essential oil of P. callosum killed all the mites tested after 72 h of exposure. The 50% lethal concentration ranged from 1.19 to 2.16 µl/L air for P. marginatum and from 1.22 to 3.44 µl/L air for P. callosum.

KEYWORDS:

• Essential oil
• Suidasia pontifica
• stored grains
• Piperaceae

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Izabel Cristina Casanova Turatti (FCFRP-USP) for performing the GC-FID and GC-MS analyses, Prof. Ari de Freitas Hidalgo for identifying plants, and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM) for providing financial support, along with Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Universidade de São Paulo (USP).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).