Elsevier

Chemosphere

Volume 155, July 2016, Pages 336-347
Chemosphere

Developmental response of Spodoptera litura Fab. to treatments of crude volatile oil from Piper betle L. and evaluation of toxicity to earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae Kinb.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.03.139Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Twenty major compounds of CVO of Piper betle were detected through GCMS analysis.

  • CVO of P. betle significantly alters the behavior of Spodoptera litura.

  • Histological changes in the gut tissues of S. litura treated with CVO of P. betle were observed.

  • Earthworm toxicity showed no significant difference in treatment with CVO of P. betle comparable to chemical pesticides.

Abstract

Evaluations of biological effects of (Pb-CVO) the crude volatile oil of Piper betle leaves on the tobacco cutworm Spodoptera litura were conducted. Pb-CVO was subjected to GC-MS analysis and twenty vital compounds were isolated from the betel leaf oil. Pb-CVO was tested at four different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) against S. litura. The treated insects exhibited dose depended mortality. The mortality rate was significantly higher at the 1.0 and 1.5% Pb-CVO. The LC50 (Lethal concentration) were observed at 0.48% Pb-CVO. Larval and pupal durations increased in all treatment concentrations (0.25, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5%) whereas, pupal weight decreased compared to control. Adult longevity of S. litura was reduced in all treatments but predominantly in the 0.4 and 0.5% Pb-CVO. Correspondingly, mean fecundity rate was reduced at all concentrations compared to control. Histological studies of larvae mid-gut profiles of S. litura were severely damaged in 1.0 and 1.5% and showed abnormalities in mid-gut cells with 0.25 and 0.5% Pb-CVO treatments. Earthworm toxicity illustrated that 0.1% of chemical insecticides (monocrotophos and cypermethrin) varied widely in their contact toxicities compared to 0.5 and 1.0% Pb-CVO and control in both contact filter paper and artificial soil test. These findings suggest that twenty essential compounds of betel leaf oil were significant inhibitors of the development and caused behavioral changes of S. litura. Treatment with betel leaf oil at these concentrations had no adverse effect on earthworm populations.

Introduction

Botanical insecticides have been instrumental in the discovery and development of synthetic chemical products. Examining botanical insecticide chemistry provides a solid foundation built upon evolutionary selection for chemistries that may be more specific to a pest or pathogen, while having faster degradation, lower environmental persistence, and usually do not bio-accumulate in the eco system. Thus continued discovery and development of botanical-based products exemplifies the direction for designing new, better pesticides (Senthil-Nathan, 2013, Senthil-Nathan, 2015). Piper betle L. (Piperaceae) leaves has a strong spicy and aromatic flavor (Wirotesangthong et al., 2008), are extensively cultivated in several countries with a history of long use by humans (Dammini-Premachandra et al., 2014). Chemical analyses of P. betle has revealed the presence of glycosides, saponins, mucilage, carbohydrates, flavonoids, protein reducing sugars and amino acids, but an absence of alkaloids and fixed oil (Khan et al., 2013). These compounds have been shown to have important biological activities and are used in common medicines (Nordin et al., 2013). The entire plant parts of P. betle, leaves, roots, stems, stalks and fruits, have insecticidal activity. The diverse pharmacological activities include carminative, stomachic, anti-helminthic, tonic, aphrodisiac, laxative activities (Khan et al., 2012). The phyto-constituents of the leaf contains an average of 1.4% of essential oils (Caburian and Osi, 2010) and the percentage may be higher in young leaves and lower in mature leaves (Pradhan et al., 2013). The chief constituent of the P. betle is a volatile oil which contains phenols, chavibetol, chavicol, cadinene and hydroxychavicol (Singh et al., 2009). Crude volatile oil (CVO) and alcoholic extracts of the P. betle have been shown to have insecticidal properties (Mohottalage et al., 2007, Dammini-Premachandra et al., 2014).

Spodoptera litura Fab. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous and economically important pest (Lavina et al., 2001, Senthil-Nathan and Kalaivani, 2005, Senthil-Nathan and Kalaivani, 2006). S. litura is a polyphagous insect that feeds on more than 112 host plants, being one of the most harmful agricultural pests in China, India, and Japan, (Pang et al., 2001, Wan et al., 2014). Tobacco armyworm, S. litura, often causes yield losses of 35–55% (Srinivasa Rao et al., 2014) and feeds on significant crop plants including cotton, tobacco, groundnut and soybean (Rehan and Freed, 2014). All chemical insecticides currently in use fail to adequately control S. litura in the field due to development of insecticide resistance (Senthil-Nathan, 2013).

Earthworm is an essential soil invertebrate, which decomposes organic matter. Worms are suitable bio-indicators associated with soil fertility and fauna diversity. They are the essential producer of the vermicompost process and increase the soil surface area for microbes by fragmentation of the ingested material through muscular action (Lazcano et al., 2008, Ravindran et al., 2015). Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg) inhabits the surface layer (epigeic) of moist soils with rich organic matter (Bouche, 1977). Eudrilidae earthworms are utilized in organic, industrial, and biotechnology for vermicomposting (Nattudurai et al., 2014). Changes in earthworm behavior depend in large part upon the degree of exposure to contaminants in the soil (Langdon et al., 2005). In terrestrial ecotoxicology, earthworms are sensitive indicators of soil quality (Lin et al., 2007, Gao et al., 2015). The objectives of the present investigation includes: (a) isolation of CVO from fresh P. betle leaves (Pb-CVO); (b) determination of major active compounds present in Pb-CVO using GC-MS technique; (c) detection of behavioral changes in S. litura treating with different concentrations of Pb-CVO; (d) observation of histological changes in the gut tissues of S. litura; (e) evaluation of toxicity of Pb-CVO to earthworm E. eugeniae compared to chemical pesticides.

Section snippets

Insect culture

S. litura cultures were maintained at the laboratory, Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Excellence in Environmental Sciences (SPKCEES), Manonmaniam Sundaranar university, Tamil Nadu. The eggs of S. litura were surface sterilized in situ by dipping in 0.02% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min, then rinsed with distilled water for 2 min. Then they were allowed to hatch. Post hatching larvae were reared on castor leaves (Ricinus communis) to the prepupal stage. Pre-pupae were detached and provided with

Chemical characterization through GC-MS

The results identified the chemical compounds in the Pb-CVO, molecular formula, molecular weight (g/mol), retention time (RT) and chemical structures presented in (Table 1), with their peak area in Fig. 1. The peak area correlates to concentration and was greater for Eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol (14.95%). Compounds also identified included: α Pinene (1.08%), bicycle [2.21] heptane, 7,7-dimethyl-2-methylene (3.65%), eucalyptol (2.51%), 3-Octen-5-yne,2,7-dimethyl-[E] (3.55%), cyclohexene,

Discussion

Chemical insecticides can cause increased toxicity to beneficial organisms in a treated ecosystem. This can affect parasitoids, predators, soil organisms, including earthworms, and soil borne microbes. The health and vitality of soils are strongly linked to the presence of the soil fauna (Kinney et al., 2012). Chemical insecticides can affect these non-target organisms (Abudulai et al., 2001, Senthil-Nathan et al., 2006a, Senthil-Nathan et al., 2006b, Senthil-Nathan et al., 2006c.) when not

Conclusions and recommendations

Based on the results, Pb-CVO could provide an important new control product to reduce S. litura. Furthermore, reduced environmental toxicity provides a pest management approach that reduces harm to beneficial organisms, like earthworms. Chemical analyses using GC-MS revealed twenty compounds in Pb-CVO and these potentially provide novel pest management chemistries which should be further examined.

Acknowledgement

The project was full financially supported by King Saud University, through Vice Deanship of Research Chairs.

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