Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of Bluebird Vine (Petrea volubilis)

A chemical analysis of bluebird vine (Petrea volubilis, Verbenaceae) (additional common names, queen's wreath and sandpaper vine) cultivated in Egypt as a botanical insecticide, identified the primary constituents as β-amyrin, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, lupeol, and ursolic acid. The essential oil, extracted from fresh herb by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography, had cineole (26.8%) as the major constituent. The saponifiable and unsaponifiable constituents, subjected to GLC/MS for identification, indicated the presence of 17 saponifiable constituents with the major constituent being phytol (19%). A total of 14 fatty acids were identified as their methyl ester with methyl palmitate (35.1%) being the major constituent. Free sugars and polysacharides were measured by HPLC and indicated the presence of sucrose, galactose, glucose, rhaminose, xylose, and arabinose. The petroleum ether and essential oil demonstrated antimicrobial activity against several microorganisms. The essential oil demonstrated insecticidal effects against the common housefly (Musca domestica L.) larvae with mortality rates of 80–100%.