| Title: | Inhibitory effect of thymol on pheromone-mediated attraction in two pest moth species |
| Author(s): | Lopez S; Dominguez A; Guerrero A; Quero C; |
| Address: | "Department of Biological Chemistry, Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain. sergio.lopez@cid.csic.es. Department of Biological Chemistry, Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain. Department of Biological Chemistry, Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain. carme.quero@cid.csic.es" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-020-79550-1 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Plant essential oils are considered as important bio-sources for the development of natural and environmentally safe pest control tools due to their multiple modes of action on insects. In this paper we have evaluated the activity of commercially available thyme oil and its constituents thymol, carvacrol, and p-cymene, as potential disruptants of the pheromone-mediated communication in the major pest moths Spodoptera littoralis Boisduval (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). In electroantennographic assays, the antennal response of males to thyme oil, thymol, and carvacrol was altered at high doses (10(3)-10(4) microg), shifting the signal waveform into a biphasic negative-positive potential that caused a decay in the response. In wind tunnel assays, pheromone-mediated attraction of males of both species was interrupted in presence of thyme oil. Further trials demonstrated that thymol alone reduced the number of G. molesta and S. littoralis males landing on the pheromone source. This effect did not differ from that of thyme oil, although the latter provoked a significant reduction on downwind behavior steps in S. littoralis. Overall, our findings provide a preliminary basis for delving into the effect of thyme oil, and especially of its major constituent thymol, as potential mating disruptants of both species" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Cymenes/pharmacology Male Moths/*drug effects/*physiology Oils, Volatile/pharmacology Pheromones/*pharmacology Reproduction/drug effects Sex Attractants/*pharmacology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects Thymol/*pharmacology Thymus Plant/chemistr;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineLopez, Sergio Dominguez, Aroa Guerrero, Angel Quero, Carmen eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2021/01/15 Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 13; 11(1):1223. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79550-1" |
