Antiectoparasitic activity of the gum resin, gum haggar, from the East African plant, Commiphora holtziana

The repellent activity of gum haggar, a resin produced by Commiphora holtziana (Burseraceae), was assessed using the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus and the red poultry mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. The resin was significantly repellent, with GC–MS/GC–NMR analysis revealing the presence of 15 sesquit...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Phytochemistry (Oxford) Vol. 69; no. 8; pp. 1710 - 1715
Main Authors:	Birkett, Michael A., Abassi, Sate Al, Kröber, Thomas, Chamberlain, Keith, Hooper, Antony M., Guerin, Patrick M., Pettersson, Jan, Pickett, John A., Slade, Robin, Wadhams, Lester J.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2008 Elsevier
Subjects:	(+)-Germacrene-D Africa Animals Behavior, Animal - drug effects Biological and medical sciences Biological Assay Boophilus microplus bourbonene sesquiterpenes Burseraceae - chemistry Chemical constitution chemical structure Commiphora Commiphora holtziana Dermanyssus gallinae ectoparasites elemene sesquiterpenes Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry General pharmacology germacrene sesquiterpenes Gum haggar Ixodidae Larva - drug effects Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Medical sciences Mite mite control mites Mites - drug effects Motor Activity - drug effects Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food Pharmacology. Drug treatments Plant physiology and development Repellent repellents resins Resins, Plant - chemistry Resins, Plant - pharmacology sesquiterpenoids spectral analysis stereochemistry Tick tick control ticks Ticks - drug effects Africa Gum haggar Repellent Mite Commiphora holtziana Tick (+)-Germacrene-D Gum haggar,Commiphora holtziana,Repellent,Tick,Mite,(+)-Germacrene-D Bioassay Hydrocarbon Stereochemistry Burseraceae Precursor Isomer Gas chromatography Pest Dicotyledones Animal Sesquiterpenes Angiospermae Isolation Spermatophyta Resins Degradation product Mass spectrometry Gum
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	The repellent activity of gum haggar, a resin produced by Commiphora holtziana (Burseraceae), was assessed using the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus and the red poultry mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. The resin was significantly repellent, with GC–MS/GC–NMR analysis revealing the presence of 15 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, including (+)-germacrene-D, a potent arthropod repellent. The mechanism of ixodid tick (Acari: Ixodidae) repellency by gum haggar, a resin produced by Commiphora holtziana (Burseraceae), was investigated by evaluating activity against the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus. In an arena bioassay, a hexane extract of the resin of C. holtziana exhibited a repellent effect lasting up to 5 h. The hydrocarbon fraction of the resin extract was shown to account for the repellent activity, and was analysed by coupled gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Major sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were tentatively identified as germacrene-D, δ-elemene and β-bourbonene. The identity and stereochemistry of the former compound was confirmed as the (+)-isomer by peak enhancement using enantioselective GC, whereas the latter 2 compounds, which are most likely degradation products of germacrene-type precursors, were identified through isolation by preparative gas chromatography followed by microprobe-NMR spectroscopy. GC comparison of gum haggar with another resin, C. myrrha, which was inactive in the tick bioassay, showed that the latter contained much lower levels of these hydrocarbons. To assess the suitability of the gum haggar resin as a general acarine repellent, further tests were made on a major acarine pest of European and US animal husbandry systems, the red poultry mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (Acari: Dermanyssidae). Gum haggar extract, and the isolated hydrocarbon fraction, showed strong repellent effects in an olfactometer assay, and again gum myrrh showed no effect. These findings provide a scientific basis for the observed anti-tick properties of gum haggar, and demonstrate the potential for its development as a general acarine repellent for use in animal husbandry systems.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.02.017 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0031-9422 1873-3700
DOI:	10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.02.017