Antitermitic quinones from Diospyros sylvatica

• Published in: Phytochemistry (Oxford) Vol. 65; no. 9; pp. 1265 - 1271
• Main Authors: Ganapaty, Seru, Steve Thomas, Pannakal, Fotso, Serge, Laatsch, Hartmut
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animals; bioassays; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical constitution; chemical structure; diospyrin; Diospyros; Diospyros - chemistry; Diospyros sylvatica; Diospyros sylvatica Roxb; Ebenaceae; Economic plant physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Insect Control - methods; insect repellents; Insect Repellents - chemistry; Insect Repellents - isolation & purification; Insecticides - chemistry; Insecticides - isolation & purification; isodiospyrin; Isoptera; microphyllone; Molecular Structure; mortality; Naphthoquinones; Odontotermes obesus; phytochemicals; plant extracts; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Roots - chemistry; plumbagin; quinones; Quinones - chemistry; Quinones - isolation & purification; Repellent and toxic effects; Root extract; spectral analysis; termiticides; Termitidae; toxicity testing; India; Root extract; Odontotermes obesus; Ebenaceae; Diospyros sylvatica Roxb; Repellent and toxic effects; Naphthoquinones; Root; Mortality; Quinone; Survival; Anthraquinone; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Diospyros; Isolation; Repellent; Spermatophyta; Solvent
• ISSN: 0031-9422; 1873-3700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2004.03.011

Six quinones were isolated from the roots of
Diospyros sylvatica and tested for their antitermitic activity.
Six quinones were isolated from the chloroform extract of the roots of
Diospyros sylvatica and identified as 2-methyl-anthraquinone, plumbagin, diosindigo, diospyrin, isodiospyrin and microphyllone. The effect of the root extract on the orientation and survival of the subterranean termite,
Odontotermes obesus was tested. In addition, four of these quinones were tested on the survival of the subterranean termite. In a direct-choice experiment, exposure to an extract-treated filter disc had a significantly repellent effect over the solvent-treated filter disc. The no-choice experiment revealed the toxic property of the extract as well as the tested quinones and showed high mortality of the
O. obesus workers after 48 h on forced exposure. The major termiticidal components identified were plumbagin, isodiospyrin and microphyllone while diospyrin was not toxic to termites at the concentration tested. All the quinones are reported for the first time from
D. sylvatica.