Essential oil from ornamental plant Juniperus Sabina L. (Cupressaceae gray) with antifeedant, repellent and deterrent activity against Galleria Mellonella L.

Abstract

Juniperus sabina L. (Cupressaceae Gray) planted in the Central Europe as an ornamental shrub for gardening. In China twigs and leaves of Juniperus sabina have been traditionally used as the medicinal herb for the treatment of many ailments. At the same time, the biologically active properties of various species of Juniperus, including Juniperus sabina, are studied for the possible use of their extracts in the control of pests and plant diseases. We carry out investigation of the essential oil from dry needles of the plant Juniperus sabina. Essential oil was evaporated by heating a mixture of water and plant materials at atmospheric pressure, followed by the liquefaction of the vapors in a condenser and collection in receiving vessel Ginsberg according to a hydrodistillation method (HD). Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was as a test-object for studying the antifeedant effect of essential oil from J.sabina in the laboratory conditions. For these purpose in the Petri dishes (diameter 14 cm, 4 replicates) were placed treated (200 µl essential oil/ 1.0 g feed) and untreated feed (1.5 g both). After that in the centre dishes were placed the larvae of 2-3 instars of Galleria mellonella. In the control in the Petri dishes was only untreated feed. We observed by the movement of larvae. It was noted that all the larvae in the experiment moved toward to the untreated feed, some larvae lost orientation. It was established statistically significant (р≤0,05) that in the experiment with the choice larvae took more than 30 to 120 seconds in search of food in comparative to the control. It was determined that the essential oil from the Juniperus sabina has not only a repellent effect on the larvae of Galleria mellonella, but also an antifeedant effect. The amount of consumed treated food was significantly lower (by 31.42%) than the untreated. It was also found that the essential oil had a deterrental effect. Two weeks after the start of the experiment, the amount of the consumed food in the experiment was significantly lower than in the control on 41.2%.