POTENTIALS OF CONSTITUENTS FROM PARKIA BIGLOBOSA (JACQ.) R.BR. EX G.DON SEEDS AQUEOUS AND N-HEXANE FRACTIONS AGAINST MACROTERMES BELLICOSUS SMEARTHMAN [BLATTODEA: TERMITIDAE]
NJE Vol. 41(2): 16-30, 2025
DOI.10.36108/NJE/5202/14.0220
Oyewole Elizabeth Olajumoke Olabisi1٭, Fasola Taiye Remi1, Umeh Vincent C.2 Adeniran Adedapo Adedayo3
1Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
2National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, Nigeria.
3Pharmacognosy and Natural Medicine, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
Abstract
Globally, termites cause damage to agricultural products, resources and lumber to the tune of around $40 billion annually (Ahmad et al., 2019). Botanically derived insecticides have gained attention as potential substitutes for conventional termite control due to their rich biologically active constituents. These plant-based alternatives for termite control with diverse potential applications are largely untapped. This study therefore was aimed at investigating the scientific basis and efficacy of Parkia biglobosa in the management of termites. Parkia biglobosa seeds were extracted with 100% methanol, concentrated in vacuo and the extract was partitioned into n-hexane, ethyl-acetate, and aqueous fractions. Methanol extract and fractions were screened against M. bellicosus for toxicity at 31.25-125 mg/ml and repellency at 125 mg/ml. Chlorpyrifos (Rocket) served as control. The aqueous and n-hexane fractions were subjected to chromatographic analyses (LC-MS and GC-MS) respectively. All samples showed anti-termite activity. Parkia biglobosa aqueous methanol fraction was the most toxic with an LC50 of 23.86±0.01 mg/ml compared to crude extract (96.08±0.03 mg/ml), n-hexane (106.4±0.02 mg/ml), and ethyl-acetate (153.4±0.01 mg/ml). Aqueous fraction had a mean repellency (%) of 47.8±5.2, n-hexane 38.9±4.8, ethyl-acetate 33.9±7.0, and crude extract 16.1±6.9. Jasmonic acid and quassin were present in the aqueous fraction, while 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diisooctyl ester, 2-nonenal, (Z)-, furan, 2-pentyl-, hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, stigmasterol, nonanal, n-caproic acid vinyl ester were present in n-hexane fraction. The bioactive constituents responsible for insecticidal activity of P. biglobosa seeds have been tested and confirmed. Thus, P. biglobosa can be recommended as alternative to synthetic termiticides in termite management.
Keywords Anti-termite, Bioactive constituents, Chromatography-mass spectrometry, Macrotermes bellicosus, Parkia biglobosa