The acaricidal activity and mechanism of eugenol on Psoroptes cuniculi

•The acaricidal effect and its mechanism of eugenol were measured.•Eugenol had the effect of killing Psoroptes cuniculi.•Eugenol could regulate the mRNA expression of GST, Ca and Trx.•PPAR, NF-kappa B, TNF, Rap 1 and Ras may be the main pathways in killing mates. In this study, the acaricidal effect of eugenol was measured and its mechanism of action investigated. The results showed that eugenol possessed the effect of killing Psoroptes cuniculi, and could regulate the mRNA expression of glutathione S-transferase (GST), catechinic acid (Ca) and thioredoxin (Trx). PPAR, NF-kappa B, TNF, Rap 1 and Ras signaling pathways might be the main pathways that involved into the process of killing mites. These findings suggested that eugenol could be developed into a new kind of acaricide, and further expand current knowledge on the mechanisms of eugenol for killing Psoroptes cuniculi of eugenol.