Bioassays against pinewood nematode: assessment of a suitable dilution agent and screening for bioactive essential oils

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 17; no. 10; pp. 12312 - 12329
• Main Authors: Barbosa, Pedro, Faria, Jorge M S, Mendes, Marta D, Dias, Luís Silva, Tinoco, Maria Teresa, Barroso, José G, Pedro, Luis G, Figueiredo, Ana Cristina, Mota, Manuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19.10.2012; MDPI
• Subjects: acetone; Acetone - chemistry; Animals; Antinematodal Agents - chemistry; Antinematodal Agents - pharmacology; Bioassays; Bursaphelenchus xylophilus; essential oils; nematicide activity; Nematoda - drug effects; Octoxynol - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Origanum - chemistry; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests - methods; Plant Oils - chemistry; Plant Oils - pharmacology; Satureja - chemistry; Solvents - chemistry; Toxicity Tests - methods; Triton X-100
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules171012312

Acetone was investigated and found to be an appropriate alternative to Triton X-100 as a solvent of essential oils in bioassays aimed to investigate their effects on pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) mortality. Therefore it was used as dilution agent to screen the effectiveness of fifty two essential oils against this pest. Thirteen essential oils were highly effective, resulting in more than 90% pinewood nematode mortality at 2 mg/mL, with six of them resulting in 100% mortality. LC₁₀₀ values ranged between 0.50 mg/mL and 0.83 mg/mL for the essential oils of Origanum vulgare and Satureja montana, respectively. Essential oils were submitted to gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and their chemical composition established. Data from essential oils with 100% mortality at 2 mg/mL and other essential oils previously found to have LC₁₀₀ ≤ 2 mg/mL was combined, their chemical profiles investigated by correspondences analysis plus automatic classification.