Efficacy and underlying mechanisms of the essential oil derived from Rosmarinus officinalis against Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Acari: Acaridae)

ABSTRACT

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L) essential oil (REO) has an inhibitory effect against pests and is regarded as a safe alternative to synthetic acaricides. This study investigated the acaricidal and repellent activity of REO and underlying mechanisms against Aleuroglyphus ovatus, an important mite pest of stored products. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analysis of REO indicated that the compounds of 1,8-cineole (25.20%) was the highest. REO at 13% concentration provided the highest repellent effect (92.67%) on A. ovatus, and the lowest repellent activity (48.67%) was at 0.8% concentration. Microscopic observations revealed that the mite epidermis started to shrink after treatment with REO at 6 h post-treatment. The enzyme level of catalase (CAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) decreased significantly (P < 0.05), whereas there was a significant increase (P < 0.05) in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and glutathione-s-transferases (GST) activities in A. ovatus treated with REO. In the molecular docking study, camphor and 1,8-cineole, the main monoterpenes of REO, bind more closely with CAT and AChE, and PI-conjugated interaction, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic were found by molecular docking 3D model. Overall, our results indicate the potential of REO as an effective botanical acaricide to manage A. ovatus.

KEYWORDS:

• Aleuroglyphus ovatus
• rosemary essential oil
• acaricidal activity
• enzyme activity
• molecular docking

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of Anhui Provincial Engineering Research Center for Polysaccharide Drugs for assistance in analysing the REO components by GC/MS of the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

JZ and YL contributed to the conception and design of the study. LZ and JG collected the samples, LZ, QT, MZ, QX, and JG performed assay of acaricidal activity and enzyme activities. LZ, JZ, and YL analysed the data and wrote the manuscript and carried out substantial revisions to the manuscript. Current version of the manuscript submitted obtained approval from all authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants of Academic Aid Program for Top-notch Talents in Provincial Universities [gxbjZD2020071] and Key Research and Wuhu Key Research and Development Program of China [2021yf39].