Variability in flavonoid compounds of four Tribulus species: does it play a role in their identification by desert locust Schistocerca gregaria?

• Published in: Journal of chemical ecology Vol. 24; no. 9; pp. 1465 - 1481
• Main Authors: Louveaux, A. (Universite Paris Sud, Orsay, France.), Jay, M, El Hadi, O.T.M, Roux, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer 01.09.1998; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Antioxidants; APPETABILITE; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; COMPORTEMENT ALIMENTAIRE; COMPOSE PHENOLIQUE; COMPOSICION QUIMICA; COMPOSITION CHIMIQUE; COMPUESTOS FENOLICOS; FEEDING HABITS; FEUILLE; FLAVONOIDE; FLAVONOIDES; FLAVONOIDS; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HABITOS ALIMENTARIOS; HOJAS; INTERACTIONS; LEAVES; Liquid chromatography; PALATABILIDAD; PALATABILITY; PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS; Phenols; Plant extracts; PLANT INSECT INTERACTIONS; Plants and fungi; Principal components analysis; Relative abundance; SCHISTOCERCA GREGARIA; Tribulus; Tribulus bimucronatus; Tribulus longipetalus; Tribulus ochroleucus; Tribulus terrestris; VARIATION; ZYGOPHYLLACEAE; Mauritania; Africa; Feeding behavior; Insecta; Orthoptera; Interspecific comparison; Sympatry; Concentration; Host plant selection; Feeding preference; Flavonoid; Acrididae; Phytophagous; Animal plant relation; Zygophyllaceae; Arthropoda; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Acridoidea; Schistocerca gregaria; Spermatophyta; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0098-0331; 1573-1561
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1020903631798

We examined how variability in phenolic metabolism of four closely related Tribulus taxa might affect palatability to Schistocerca gregaria. Plants were collected in the Mauritanian breeding areas of the locust. Eighteen flavonoids (caffeoyl derivatives, quercetin glycosides, including rutin, and kaempferol glycosides) were detected with high-performance liquid chromatography in leaf extracts. Principal component analysis (PCA) differentiated relative abundance of flavonoids of Tribulus terrestris from T. longipetalus, T. ochroleucus, and T. bimucronatus. Flavonoids content of T. terrestris leaves varied between northern and southern Mauritanian sites. Dual choice tests with plants whose flavonoid profiles had been determined previously were analyzed by multiple regression. The data suggest that the desert locust prefers T. terrestris plants rich in quercetin glycosides