Chemical Variation and Implications on Repellency Activity of Tephrosia vogelii (Hook f.) Essential Oils Against Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky

The aim of this research is to characterize the variation in the chemical composition of Tephrosia vogelii essential oils from different locations and to investigate the repellency of essential oils against Sitophilus zeamais. Chemical variability in the components of T. vogelii essential oils from eastern Uganda was identified using principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC). Based on the profiles of the compounds of the farnesene family, three chemotypes were found: farnesol (chemotype 1), springene (β-springene and α-springene) and β-farnesene were all distinctive in chemotype 2 and a mixed variety of farnesol and springene. In the three cases, alkyl benzenes (o-xylene, m-xylene and ethylbenzene) were significant components in the oil. The compounds 1,4-dihydroxy-p-menth-2-ene, 6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one, and 3,4-dimethyl-3-cyclohexen-1-carboxaldehyde were other prominent constituents. The yields of the essential oils did not vary significantly, however the chemical composition varied with harvesting time during the rainy and dry seasons. In choice repellency tests, chemotype 1 and chemotype 2 were more active against Sitophilus zeamais than the mixed chemotype. Farnesol was found to be effective only at a higher concentration as a repellent against S. zeamais. We therefore hypothesize that farnesol is a key player in this and we demonstrated the weak repellency of this compound. However, further study that aims to optimize and standardize the varieties and harvesting period is needed for recommendation to smallhold farmers.