Abstract

OLIVERO-VERBEL, Jesús; CABALLERO-GALLARDO, Karina; JARAMILLO-COLORADO, Beatriz  and  STASHENKO, Elena. Repellent activity of the essential oils from Lippia origanoides, Citrus sinensis and Cymbopogon nardus cultivated in Colombia against Tribolium castaneum, Herbst. Rev. Univ. Ind. Santander. Salud [online]. 2009, vol.41, n.3, pp.244-250. ISSN 0121-0807.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the repellent activity of three essential oils (EO), and a commercial repellent against species Tribolium castaneum Herbst, a major pest of grain and stored products. Materials and methods: The repellent activity was measured using the area of preference method, as well as the concentration of essential oil that is capable of repelling 50% of the insects (RC₅₀). A paired T test was used to find significant differences between the number of insects present in the treated and untreated areas. Results: All EOs showed repellent activity against T. castaneum, and the magnitude of the effect was dose-dependent. The AE with the highest repellence were those extracted from Lippia origanoides and Citrus sinensis, whereas the one with the lowest activity was that from Cymbopogon nardus. Discussion: Although in terms of RC₅₀ the EO from C. nardus showed repellent activity lower than those registered for L. origanoides and C. sinensis, the first had a greater efficacy than that showed by the commercial product IR3535. These EOs have shown repellent properties against organism different from T. castaneum, suggesting that they have a wide spectrum of action. Conclusions: The results have shown that EOs from Colombian flora are an important source of repellents, which could be used for biological control of insects. Salud UIS 2009; 41: 244-250.

Keywords : Repellent activity; essential oils; insects; Tribolium castaneum. Herbst; Colombia.

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