Novel Lactone-Based Insecticides and Drosophila suzukii Management: Synthesis, Potential Action Mechanisms and Selectivity for Non-Target Parasitoids.

Drosophila suzukii, an invasive insect pest, poses a significant threat to various fruit crops. The use of broad-spectrum insecticides to control this pest can reduce the effectiveness of biological control agents, such as the parasitoid Trichopria anastrephae. Here, we evaluated the toxicity of newly synthesized lactone derivatives on D. suzukii and their selectivity towards T. anastrephae. We used in silico approaches to identify potential targets from the most promising molecules in the D. suzukii nervous system and to understand potential differences in susceptibilities between D. suzukii and its parasitoid. Of the nine molecules tested, (rac)-8 and compound 4 demonstrated efficacy against the fly. Exposure to the estimated LC90 of (rac)-8 and compound 4 resulted in a mortality rate of less than 20% for T. anastrephae without impairing the parasitoid's functional parasitism. The in silico predictions suggest that (rac)-8 and compound 4 target gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) receptors and transient receptor potential (TRP) channels of D. suzukii. However, only the reduced interaction with TRP channels in T. anastrephae demonstrated a potential reason for the selectivity of these compounds on the parasitoid. Our findings suggest the potential for integrating (rac)-8 and compound 4 into D. suzukii management practices.

1 H-NMR and GC for detection of adulteration in commercial essential oils of Cymbopogon ssp.

INTRODUCTION: Essential oils of Cymbopogon nardus and C. winterianus have fungicidal, bactericidal, and insect repellent activities. In addition, they are components of fragrances, cosmetics, and household products. The growing demand for essential oils has intensified adulteration practices of such products. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the authenticity and quality of citronella commercial essential oils based on chemical composition [by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS)] and the contents of its major constituents [by 1 H-NMR, and gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector using internal standardisation (GC-IS)]. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chemical composition of essential oil was determined by GC-MS. Major components were quantified by 1 H-NMR and the results compared to those obtained by GC-IS. RESULTS: The adulteration of oils was verified by GC and 1 H-NMR. In the pure oils, the results obtained by 1 H-NMR were similar to those obtained by GC-IS for most of the oils. However, in adulterated oils, signal overlap prevented the quantification of citronellol and geraniol by NMR. Importantly, due to dilution with dipropylene glycol it was not possible to quantify citronellal using 1 H-NMR. However, for both pure and adulterated oils, GC-IS method proved successful in quantifying notable constituents. CONCLUSION: All the methods used proved efficient in detecting adulteration. However, whilst GC-IS provided quantification of constituents of interest, both in pure and adulterated oils, their quantification by NMR was only possible in non-adulterated samples. None of the oils evaluated presented a composition within the threshold established by British Pharmacopoeia quality standards.

A validated 1H NMR method for quantitative analysis of α-bisabolol in essential oils of Eremanthus erythropappus.

α-Bisabolol is a natural terpene produced by Eremanthus erythropappus and is widely used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals due to its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antimycotic properties. Due to these applications, a control of composition and authenticity of commercial oils rich in this terpene is required, resulting in a demand for new methodologies for quality control. In this work a rapid and efficient method for quantification of α-bisabolol in the essential oil of E. erythropappus (candeia) using 1H NMR was developed, validated and compared to gas chromatography (GC) method. The quantification of α-bisabolol by 1H NMR was successfully achieved for most of the essential oil samples of E. erythropappus evaluated, except for those with a more complex composition. To circumvent this limitation a 2D NMR COSY contour map was used. This method proved to be a fast and efficient alternative, providing results with standard deviations SD<0.3%. All evaluated parameters (selectivity, linearity, accuracy/precision, repeatability, robustness and stability of analyte and internal standard in solution) gave satisfactory results. Using the 1H NMR signals at 5.36 and 5.13ppm, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.26 and 2.59mg, respectively. The results obtained by the 1H NMR method presented SD=0.59%, smaller than the value found for GC (SD=1.18%). Tukey tests have shown that the results obtained by 1H NMR and COSY methodology are similar to the obtained by the traditional GC-FID technique using external and internal standardization and normalization with 95% confidence.

An optimized and validated (1)H NMR method for the quantification of α-pinene in essentials oils.

The authenticity and composition of commercial essential oils requires strict quality control. Due to the importance of α-pinene containing essential oils, a rapid and efficient method for quantification of this terpene in oils of eucalyptus, pink pepper and turpentine using (1)H NMR was developed and validated. All evaluated parameters (selectivity, linearity, accuracy/precision, repeatability, robustness, stability of analyte and internal standard in solutions) showed satisfactory results. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.1 and 2.5mg respectively. These values indicated that α-pinene was detected in 35 mg samples containing at least 0.3% of this compound. In addition, a minimum of 8% of α-pinene in the sample was required for quantification. Furthermore, the standard deviations found in the (1)H NMR methodology were less than 1% and were lower than those obtained by gas chromatographic analysis. Statistical tests have shown that the results obtained by (1)H NMR methodology are similar to those obtained by GC-FID technique using external and internal standardization and normalization within 95% confidence. R&R values lower than 10% have shown that all the methods are appropriate and the (1)H NMR method is suitable for quantification of α-pinene in samples of essential oils since this method possessed the smallest R&R (1.81) value.