Assessment of attractancy and safeness of (E)‐coniferyl alcohol for management of female adults of Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Bactrocera dorsalis is a devastating pest on fruits and vegetables because the adult female is the key factor that determines the population density of offspring and the degree of host damage. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of effective female attractants for behavioral control. Males of B. dorsalis fed on methyl eugenol (ME) were shown to be more sexually attracted to females and, therefore, were more successful in mating over ME-deprived males.RESULTS: In the current study, we demonstrated that (E)-coniferyl alcohol (E-CF), one of the ME metabolites in males, was highly attractive to sexually-mature females in laboratory bioassays. During the dusk courtship period, mature females showed the highest response to E-CF. However, there were no significant differences in olfactory responses to E-CF between virgin and mated mature females. Moreover, no obvious signs and symptoms of toxicity or death were observed in mice during a 14-day acute oral toxicity test. Toxicologically, no significant changes were observed in body weight, water intake, food consumption and absolute and relative organ weights between control and treated groups of healthy-looking mice, implying that E-CF could be regarded as non-toxic. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assessment revealed that E-CF was non-toxic against human fetal lung fibroblast 1 (HFL1), human breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), mouse embryonic hepatocytes (BNL-CL.2) and Spodoptera frugiperda ovary (SF-9) cell lines.CONCLUSIONS: E-CF proved to be an effective, promising and eco-friendly lure to B. dorsalis females. Therefore, this study may facilitate the development of novel control strategies against B. dorsalis in the field.

Exploration of Clove Bud (Syzygium aromaticum) Essential Oil as a Novel Attractant against Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and Its Safety Evaluation

“…Hatching larvae were reared on an artificial diet based on that used in a previous report [ 11 , 28 ]. The adult flies were reared in mesh cages (30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm) and fed on an artificial diet consisting of dry sugar:yeast extract (1:1, w / w ) and water [ 3 , 27 ].…”

“…The SF-9 cells were maintained in TNM-FH medium supplemented with 1% penicillin and 10% FBS and grown in a humidified incubator at 28 °C. All tests were conducted with exponentially growing cells [ 3 , 27 ].…”

“…Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a highly destructive invasive pest throughout the world that is capable of causing extensive damage to a broad range of cultivated and wild fruit and vegetable products [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. A serrated ovipositor allows adult females to pierce through the skin of intact ripe fruit and deposit eggs in the interior.…”

“…In particular, a powerful phytochemical lure, methyl eugenol (ME), has been employed extensively for monitoring, detection, and management of B. dorsalis [ 8 , 9 ]. Despite its benefits, ME is associated with risks; it is carcinogenic to humans and is only attractive to male flies, limiting its application for prolonged periods [ 2 , 3 , 10 , 11 ]. Therefore, to reduce pesticide application and prevent negative consequences, a more ecologically friendly and novel attractant is urgently required to control B. dorsalis.…”

“…To develop agrochemicals, it is crucial to assess the potential risk of natural extracts for non-target organisms [ 24 , 25 ]. Notably, human or insect cultured cell lines provide a straightforward, ethically compliant, and powerful tool for investigating chemical toxicity [ 3 , 26 , 27 ]. In the current study, the attractant activity of twelve flower-derived EOs, including clove bud, Michelia alba (Magnolianceae), peony, gardenia, peach blossom, jasmine, pear blossom, chrysanthemum, cerasus, Rosa chinensis (Yuejihua), Osmanthus fragrans Lour., and rose EOs, against mature B. dorsalis adults was assessed first.…”