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The essential oil of the aerial parts of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. has been isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed using GC-MS. The major components were found to be α-terpinene (63.1%), p-cymene (26.4%) and ascaridole (3.9%). The oil displayed no antibacterial activity against either Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus cereus or Staphylococcus aureus, or the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli (MIC = 1250 µg/mL). A cluster analysis of C. ambrosioides essential oils reveals at least seven distinct chemotypes: ascaridole, α-terpinene, α-pinene, p-cymene, carvacrol, α-terpinyl acetate, and limonene.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most frequent causes of death in Mexico, characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. One alternative strategy for this metabolic abnormality is inhibiting the enzymes responsible for the metabolism of carbohydrates. We evaluated whether the aqueous Citrus limetta peel extract could inhibit the metabolism of carbohydrates. We found that this extract inhibited primarily the enzyme α-amylase by 49.6% at a concentration of 20 mg/mL and to a lesser extent the enzyme α-glucosidase with an inhibition of 28.2% at the same concentration. This inhibition is likely due to the high polyphenol content in the Citrus limetta peel (19.1 mg GAE/g). Antioxidant activity of the Citrus limetta peel demonstrated dose-dependent antioxidant activity, varying from 6.5% at 1.125 mg/mL to 42.5% at 20 mg/mL. The study of these polyphenolic compounds having both antihyperglycemic and antioxidant activities may provide a new approach to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The essential oil from the aerial parts of Blumea perrottetiana was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The volatile oil is dominated by 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (30.0%) and 1,8-cineole (11.0%) with lesser amounts of sabinene (8.1%), δ-cadinene (5.3%) and (E)-caryophyllene (3.9%). The essential oil demonstrated notable insecticidal activity against the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, consistent with traditional uses of the plant as an insecticide and anthelmintic.

The level of heavy metals in crabs and prawns was investigated using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The mean concentration of copper in the crab was 1.56±0.87 µg/g; the mean concentration of zinc in the crab was also 0.64±1.96 ܖg/g. Chromium had the highest mean concentration of 8.936±35.4 µg/g while cadmium had the lowest mean of 1.66±1.82 µg/g lead was not detected. The mean concentration of heavy metals in prawn samples were follows: copper: 1.04±0.6 µg/g, cadmium: 0.07±0.08 µg/g, chromium: 4.06±7.00 µg/g and Zn 0.64±0.45 µg/g. Lead was not detected in prawn. The mean concentration of copper, cadmium and zinc in prawn was observed to be within the range NAFDAC standard for water and aquatic foods while crabs have higher mean concentration of heavy metals with the exception of zinc and copper are within the limit.

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Insecticidal activity of essential oil extracted from Morinda lucida was tested on pulse beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, which is a pest that causes serious damage to several pulses. The insecticidal activity was compared with two pesticides, Phostoxin and Primo-ban-20. 120 mixed sex adult C. maculatus were introduced, along with 30 g of cowpeas. Four concentrations (0.40, 0.20, 0.10, and 0.05 μg/mL) of the M. lucida essential oil, Phostoxin, and Primo-ban-20 were tested. Essential oil chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS. M. lucida essential oil showed a high toxicological effect, producing 100% mortality after 72 hours at a dose of 0.20 μg/mL. M. lucida essential oil had a potent insecticidal activity (LC90 = 0.629 μg/mL) compared to both pesticides, Phostoxin (LC90 = 0.652 μg/mL) and Primo-ban-20 (LC90 = 0.726 μg/mL), at 24 h. The main compounds of the essential oil were the oxygenated monoterpenoids, 1,8-cineole (43.4%), and α-terpinyl acetate (14.5%), and the monoterpene hydrocarbons, mostly sabinene (8.2%) and β-pinene (4.0%). Results clearly indicate that M. lucida essential oil can be used as an effective alternative for pulse beetle C. maculatus control, and it could be tested against other pulse beetles affecting Asia and Africa and throughout the world, thereby reducing use of synthetic pesticides.