Antifeedant and toxicity effects of thiophenes from four Echinops species against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus

• Published in: Pest management science Vol. 62; no. 9; pp. 832 - 838
• Main Authors: Fokialakis, Nikolas, Osbrink, Weste LA, Mamonov, Leonid K, Gemejieva, Nadejda G, Mims, Amelia B, Skaltsounis, Alexios L, Lax, Alan R, Cantrell, Charles L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-09-2006; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Coptotermes formosanus; Echinops albicaulis; Echinops Plant - chemistry; Echinops ritro; Echinops spinosissimus subsp. spinosissimus; Echinops transiliensis; Flowers & plants; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Insect control; Insecticides; Insecticides - chemistry; Insecticides - isolation & purification; Isoptera; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Protozoa. Invertebrates; Termites; thiophenes; Thiophenes - chemistry; Thiophenes - isolation & purification; Thiophenes - toxicity; Greece; Southern Europe; Kazakhstan; Asia; Europe; thiophenes; Insecticide; Toxicity; Insecta; Coptotermes formosanus; Echinops transiliensis; Isoptera; Pesticides; Echinops albicaulis; Thiophene; Compositae; Pesticide crop; Echinops spinosissimus subsp. spinosissimus; Pest; Echinops ritro; Arthropoda; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Antifeedant; Rhinotermitidae; Spermatophyta; Invertebrata; Mediterranean region
• ISSN: 1526-498X; 1526-4998
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.1237

Over 220 crude extracts from repositories generated from plants native to Greece and Kazakhstan were evaluated for termiticidal activity against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Emerging from this screening effort were bioactive extracts from two Greek species (Echinops ritro L. and Echinops spinosissimus Turra subsp. spinosissimus) and extracts from two Kazakhstan species (Echinops albicaulis Kar. & Kir. and Echinops transiliensis Golosh.). Fractionation and isolation of constituents from the most active extracts from each of the four species has been completed, resulting in the isolation of eight thiophenes possessing varying degrees of termiticidal activity. 2,2′:5′,2”‐Terthiophene and 5′‐(3‐buten‐1‐ynyl)‐2,2′‐bithiophene demonstrated 100% mortality against C. formosanus within 9 days at 1 and 2 wt% concentrations respectively. In addition, all but two of the eight compounds tested were significantly different from the solvent controls in the filter paper consumption bioassay. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry