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Mosquitocidal essential oils: are they safe against non-target aquatic organisms?

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Abstract

In latest years, the importance of the Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil (EO) has been greatly empathised due to its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as to its toxic properties towards many arthropods of great medical and veterinary importance. In this research, the EO extracted from aerial parts of M. alternifolia was evaluated for its toxicity against larvae of the most invasive mosquito worldwide, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), and towards adults of the water flea, Daphnia magna (Cladocera: Crustacea), a non-target aquatic organism that share the same ecological niche of A. albopictus. The chemical composition of M. alternifolia EO was investigated by GC-MS analysis. Tea tree EO was mainly composed by oxygenated monoterpenes, with 1,8-cineole as the major constituent. M. alternifolia EO exerted toxic activity against A. albopictus larvae, with a LC50 = 267.130 ppm. However, this EO had a remarkable acute toxicity also towards adults of the non-target arthropod D. magna, with a LC50 = 80.636 ppm. This research provide useful information for the development of newer and safer mosquito control tools, highlighting that the non-target effects against aquatic organisms that share the same ecological niche of A. albopictus larvae are crucial in the development of ecofriendly mosquito control strategies. Further research is needed to investigate the chronic and/or reproductive toxicity of M. alternifolia EO both towards target and non-target aquatic arthropods.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Angelo Canale (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa) for his insightful critical comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, Helen Romito (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa) for proofreading, Riccardo Antonelli and Paolo Giannotti (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa) for providing the artworks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology Section—Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, , 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Barbara Conti & Giovanni Benelli

  2. Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Guido Flamini & Pier Luigi Cioni

  3. Agronomy and Agro-ecosystem Management Section—Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Lucia Ceccarini & Mario Macchia

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  1. Barbara Conti
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  2. Guido Flamini
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  3. Pier Luigi Cioni
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  4. Lucia Ceccarini
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  5. Mario Macchia
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  6. Giovanni Benelli
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Correspondence to Giovanni Benelli.

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Conti, B., Flamini, G., Cioni, P.L. et al. Mosquitocidal essential oils: are they safe against non-target aquatic organisms?. Parasitol Res 113, 251–259 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3651-5

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