• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.720-727
• /
• 2017

Antioxidants are known to affect the feeding habits of termites and a good source is pine bark which contains high levels of antioxidants which can be extracted with neutral solvents. In this study procyanidins (PCs)-rich MeOH-extract and a hot-water extract (HWE) were prepared from Pinus radiata bark. HWE was further separated into crude PCs (CPCs), polymeric PCs (PPCs), and low-molecular-weight PCs (LMWPCs) fractions. The MeOH extract and these fractions were examined for termite (Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar) antifeedant activities using a no-choice test. Catechin was used as a positive control. The LMWPCs was found to be the most effective deterrent to termite feeding. The comparative efficiency of the compounds tested were LMWPCs > PPCs > CPCs > MeOH extract, with the latter being more dependent on molecular weight than on its antioxidant activity.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.310-315
• /
• 2016

Coumarin is a phenolic compound that mainly affects the liver due to its metabolization into a toxic compound. The deterrent and ovicidal activities of coumarin in insect models such as Drosophila melanogaster have been reported. Here we explore the molecular mechanisms by which these insects protect themselves and their eggs from this toxic plant metabolite. Coumarin was fatal to the flies in a dosage-dependent manner. However, coumarin feeding could be inhibited through activation of the aversive gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs), but not the olfactory receptor neurons. Furthermore, three gustatory receptors, GR33a, GR66a, and GR93a, functioned together in coumarin detection by the proboscis. However, GR33a, but not GR66a and GR93a, was required to avoid coumarin during oviposition, with a choice of the same substrates provided as in binary food choice assay. Taken together, these findings suggest that anti-feeding activity and oviposition to avoid coumarin occur via separate mechanisms.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.113-119
• /
• 1989

Larval development and adult oviposition of the Oriental tobacco budworm, Heliothis assulta were examined with tobacco leaves sprayed with aqueous or ethanolic extracts from ten selected wild plant species. High larval mortality was observed with extracts from Rhamnus davurice. Persicaria hydroPiPer, Forsythia koreana, Trifolium repens, Styrax japonica, Ginkgo bi/oba, and vilis amurensis. Most of larval mortality occurred during first and second instar, apparently due to antifeeding effects of plant extracts. These extracts also prolonged developmental period of survived larvae and increased the number of larval molts. Oviposition was not affected as much as the larval mortality, but Rhamnus davurice and Styrax jaPonica extracts reduced the number of eggs laid by more than fifty percent.