Repellant and insecticidal activities of shyobunone and isoshyobunone derived from the essential oil of Acorus calamus rhizomes

CONTEXT: It was found that the essential oil of Acorus calamus rhizomes showed insecticidal activity. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil from A. calamus rhizomes, evaluate insecticidal and repellant activity against Lasioderma serricorne (LS) and Tribolium castaneum (TC), and to isolate any insecticidal constituents from the essential oil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Essential oil from A. calamus was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) flame ionization detector and GC-mass spectrometry. The insecticidal and repellant activity of the essential oil and isolated compounds was tested using a variety of methods. RESULTS: The main components of the essential oil were identified to be isoshyobunone (15.56%), β-asarone (10.03%), bicyclo[6.1.0]non-1-ene (9.67%), shyobunone (9.60%) and methylisoeugenol (6.69%). Among them, the two active constituents were isolated and identified as shyobunone and isoshyobunone. The essential oil showed contact toxicity against LS and TC with LD(50) values of 14.40 and 32.55 μg/adult, respectively. The isolated compounds, shyobunone and isoshyobunone also exhibited strong contact toxicity against LS adults with LD(50) values of 20.24 and 24.19 μg/adult, respectively, while the LD(50) value of isoshyobunone was 61.90 μg/adult for TC adults. The essential oil, shyobunone and isoshyobunone were strongly repellent (98%, 90% and 94%, respectively, at 78.63 nL/cm(2), after 2 h treatment) against TC. CONCLUSION: The essential oil, shyobunone and isoshyobunone possessed insecticidal and repellant activity against LS and TC.