O Efeito do óleo essencial de Piper macedoi Yunck no comportamento de Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762): relato de caso

Effect of Piper macedoi Yunck essential oil on the behavior of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762): case report

Abstract

In Brazil, Aedes aegypti is the main vector of urban arboviruses, making its control a serious public health issue. Historically, plants have been used as an insect repellent, so currently there is a large investment in studies with essential oils, which have bioactive compounds with potential action against mosquito vectors. Therefore, the objective of the present research was to analyze and report the effect of the essential oil of Piper macedoi Yunck on the behavior of Ae. aegypti. The essential oil was extracted from fresh leaves using hydrodistillation. The mosquitoes were obtained from A. aegypti eggs supplied by the Embrapa – DF breeding center. To evaluate the effect of the oil, 6 treatments were used, containing different concentrations of the essential oil: 1000, 500, 250, 100 and 50 ppm, and a negative control. The essential oil showed a chemical profile of more than 60 substances distributed among monoterpenes (54.25%), sesquiterpenes (18.07%) and arylpropanoids (26.43%). After the test, there was a change in the behavior of the mosquitoes, with a stimulus of mating activity and agitation being observed, at concentrations of 1000 ppm and 500 ppm, during the period of 03 hours after the test. Research with Culicidae has shown that some chemical compounds act as components of pheromones and can stimulate and modulate the mating behavior of mosquitoes, even under laboratory conditions. Thus, more research is needed to deepen and elucidate the effects of bioactive compounds from the essential oil of P. macedoi on the reproductive activity of Ae. aegypti.