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Insecticidal potential of essential oils from Cupressus lusitanica growing in ecological zones of Rwanda against adult housefly, Musca domestica L

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Abstract

The housefly, Musca domestica Linnaeus is a household pest mostly controlled by use of synthetic insecticides that often affect the environment and promote insecticide resistance. Plants of Cupressaceae family are often used locally in Rwanda and Uganda as an eco-friendly way to repel houseflies. In spite of this high utility of the plant, scientific proof of its efficacy is still limited. This study aimed at assessing the insecticidal activity of essential oils (EOs) from Cupressus lusitanica Mill. (Cupressaceae) growing in three agro-ecological zones (AEZs) of Rwanda; highland (Burera), midland (Huye) and lowland (Kayonza) against adult houseflies. EOs were extracted from fresh leaves using steam distillation method. Male and female adult houseflies were exposed to individual test solutions of 90, 70, 50 and 30% v/v (DDVP or EOs/Acetone) for 6, 12 or 24 h. The levels of repellant activity, contact and fumigant toxicity were then recorded. Acetone and DDVP insecticide served as negative and positive test controls, respectively. DDVP showed higher toxicity and repellant activity compared to tested EOs, whereas Acetone repelled less than 14% of exposed houseflies in 24 h. The EOs from leaves collected in lowlands had higher fumigant and contact toxicity, followed by that from midlands, while least toxic effects were observed for EOs from highlands. The higher repellant activity was exhibited by EOs from midlands, followed by oil from lowlands. The observed promising activity among investigated AEZs implies that the EOs of C. lusitanica could be used as alternative to synthetic insecticides for control of the housefly.

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Data availability

The data sets in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AEZs:

Agro-ecological zones

C. lusitanica :

Cupressus lusitanica Mill.

DDVP:

Dimethyl 2, 2-dichlorovinyl phosphate

EOs :

Essential oils

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

GC-MS:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

HLZ:

highlands zone

LD50 :

lethal concentration that kills 50% of housefly population in assay

LD90 :

lethal concentration that kills 90% of housefly population in assay

LLZ:

lowlands zone

MLZ:

midlands zone

PR:

Repellency percentage

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the World Bank, the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) and Africa Centre of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy (ACE II PTRE) hosted at Moi University (Kenya) for financial support. They also thank the International Science Program (ISP) through the Department of Chemistry of the University of Rwanda for having provided the assistance to the laboratory of chemistry and availed facilities for essential oils extraction and analysis.

Funding

The World Bank and the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) supported this research study through the Africa Center of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile, and Renewable Energy (ACE II PTRE) hosted at Moi University, Kenya.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya

    Papias Nteziyaremye & Jackson Cherutoi

  2. Africa Center of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy (ACE II PTRE), Moi University, P.O. Box 3900‑ 30100, Eldoret, Kenya

    Papias Nteziyaremye & Jacqueline Makatiani

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, Kenya

    Jacqueline Makatiani

  4. Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, P.O. Box 3900, Kigali, Rwanda

    Théoneste Muhizi

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  1. Papias Nteziyaremye
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  4. Théoneste Muhizi
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Contributions

PN, JC, JM and TM designed the research study. PN collected samples, performed the analytical works and analyzed the data as well as writing of first draft of the Manuscript. JC, JM and TM supervised the research study. All authors revised and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Papias Nteziyaremye.

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This study was approved by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Moi University, Kenya (Approval No. MS/ACH/4317/20).

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Nteziyaremye, P., Cherutoi, J., Makatiani, J. et al. Insecticidal potential of essential oils from Cupressus lusitanica growing in ecological zones of Rwanda against adult housefly, Musca domestica L. Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 895–907 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-00972-1

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