Activity of Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) against Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

One of the most studied plant species with insecticidal properties is the castor bean Ricinus communis. However, its activity against Spodoptera frugiperda is unclear. Therefore, to determinate the insecticidal and insectistatic activities of methanol, hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of the seeds and leaves of R. communis, castor oil and ricinine were tested at different concentrations against S. frugiperda. This study demonstrated for the first time, that the castor oil and ricinine are active ingredients of R. communis that acts against S. frugiperda and that each of the seed extracts exhibited better insecticidal and insectistatic activity than the leaf extracts. The half maximum larvae viability concentration (LVC sub(50)) were 0.38 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for the ricinine, 0.75 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) fora methanol extract of seeds, 1.97 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for an ethyl acetate seed extract, 2.69 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for the castor oil, 4.83 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for a methanol extract of leaves, 5.07 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for an ethyl acetate extract of leaves, 9.95 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for a hexane extract of seeds and 10.01 x 10 super(3) mg ml super(-1) for a hexane extract of leaves.