Potential Insecticidal Activity of Four Essential Oils against the Rice Weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Oils extracted from Cymbopogon citratus, Lantana camara, Artemisia camphorata, and Imperata cylindrica plants were used as potential insecticides against the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The phytochemical composition of the isolated oils was identified by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Oil contact toxicities were evaluated against the adults of S. oryzae. The activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and transaminases enzymes (AST) were measured. L. camara oil (LC50 = 9.81 mg/cm(2)) demonstrated the highest effect, followed by C. citratus oil (LC50 = 10.89 mg/cm(2)), A. camphorata EO (LC50 = 16.12 mg/cm(2)), and I. cylindrica oil (LC50= 36.85 mg/cm(2)) against the adults of S. oryzae. The inhibition percentages of AChE were 38.8, 41.7, 35.0, and 27.2%; ALP were 42.4, 49.3, 28.1, and 18.7%; AST were 33.9, 38.7, 20.8, and 11.8%; and ALT were 22.7, 30.5, 14.6, and 9.6% after treated S. oryzae with oils from C. citratus, L. camara, A. camphorata and I. cylindrica, respectively. The highest abundant compounds in C. citratus were geranial (25.95%), nerylacetal (8.85%), and neral (8.45%), in L. camara were caryophyllene (12.2%), and 3-elemene (8.89%), in A. camphorata were germacrene D-4-ol (20.83%), and borneol (19.47%), and in I. cylindrica were 5-phenylundecane (10.68%), and 6-phenyldodecane (8.70%).

Automated summary

In this study, oils extracted from Cymbopogon citratus, Lantana camara, Artemisia camphorata, and Imperata cylindrica plants were used as potential insecticides against the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae. Among these oils, L. camara oil demonstrated the highest effect. The activities of enzymes and toxicity of the oils against S. oryzae were evaluated, with interesting findings on the inhibition percentages of key enzymes.