Food Protective Effect of Geraniol and Its Congeners against Stored Food Mites

• Published in: Journal of food protection Vol. 72; no. 7; pp. 1468 - 1471
• Main Authors: Jeon, J.H, Lee, C.H, Lee, H.S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Des Moines, IA International Association for Food Protection 01.07.2009; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: acaricidal properties; Acaridae - drug effects; Acaridae - growth & development; Acyclic Monoterpenes; Animals; Bacteria; Benzoates; benzyl benzoate; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Assay; Chromatography; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; citral; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; essential oils; flavorings; Food contamination & poisoning; Food industries; Food microbiology; Food preservation; Food Preservation - methods; Food safety; food storage; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; geraniol; Humidity; Insecticides - pharmacology; leaves; Lethal Dose 50; medicinal plants; minimum inhibitory concentration; Monoterpenes - pharmacology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Oils & fats; Pelargonium - chemistry; Pelargonium graveolens; Pest Control, Biological - methods; plant extracts; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; postharvest treatment; purification; reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography; silica gel; storage mites; stored product protection; structure-activity relationships; Terpenes - pharmacology; Tyrophagus putrescentiae; Terpene; Geraniol; Food
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-72.7.1468

The acaricidal activities of compounds derived from the oil of Pelargonium graveolens leaves against the storage food mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, were compared with the activity of a commercial acaricide, benzyl benzoate, in an impregnated fabric disk bioassay. Purification of the active constituent from P. graveolens was accomplished by silica gel chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. Structural analysis of the active constituent by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C-NMR, 1H-13C shift correlated spectroscopy NMR, and distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer NMR identified trans-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol (geraniol). Based on the 50% lethal dose values, the most toxic compounds against T. putrescentiae were geraniol (1.95 μg/cm3), which was followed by nerol (2.21 μg/cm3), citral (9.65 μg/cm3), benzyl benzoate (11.27 μg/cm3), and β-citronellol (15.86 μg/cm3). Our results suggest that geraniol is more effective in controlling T. putrescentiae than benzyl benzoate is. Furthermore, geraniol, which is used as a flavoring for beverages, candies, ice creams, and baked goods and congeners (citral and nerol), may be useful for managing populations of T. putrescentiae.