Planta Med 2012; 78 - P_88
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1307596

Chemical Composition of Rose-Scented Pelargonium Essential Oils and Their Biting Deterrence and Insecticidal Activity

CC Murphy 1, B Demirci 2, N Tabanca 3, A Ali 3, JJ Becnel 4, BJ Sampson 5, DE Wedge 6, KHC Başer 2, 7, IA Khan 3, 8
  • 1Entomology, Soils, and Plant Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634 USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470 Eskişehir, Turkey
  • 3National Center for Natural Products Research, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
  • 4USDA, ARS, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, 32608 USA
  • 5USDA-ARS, Southern Horticultural Laboratory, Poplarville, MS 39470 USA
  • 6USDA, ARS, Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677 USA
  • 7Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 8Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA

Rose-scented Pelargonium essential oils from the varieties 'Bourbon', 'China', 'Egypt' and two cultivars from South Carolina: 'Rober's Lemon Rose' and 'Frensham' were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 136 different compounds were identified from the five Pelargonium oils and the percentage of compounds characterized ranged from 85.5–99.7%. All the oils showed mosquito biting deterrent activity against Aedes aegypti. Biting deterrent effects were similar at 10µg/cm2 and at 100µg/cm2 among the oils. Among the pure compounds only geranic acid showed activity which was similar to Deet at 25 nmol/cm2. All oils killed 100% Ae. egypti larvae at 500 and 250 ppm and trans-nerolidol was the most active compound at 31.25 ppm with 80% mortality. There was no adult mosquito mortality for these oils at 3.125µg per mosquito. All five Pelargonium oils and pure compounds showed insecticidal activity against adult azalea lace bugs Stephanitis pyrioides and all oils were more active than the commercial insecticides malathion and neem, 10mg/mL. These data show that some of Pelargonium oils and/or their active ingredients could be used as mosquito biting deterrents and agrochemical agent for azalea lace bugs. Acknowledgements. This study was supported by a grant from the Deployed War-Fighter Protection (DWFP) Research Program and the U.S. Department of Defense through the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB) and USDA, ARS grant No. 56–6402–1-612.