Insecticidal Activity of Ethanolic Extract and Essential Oil of Croton Hirtus L' Hér on Amitermes Evuncifer Silvestri

The fight against insect pests, including termites, has always been based on the use of synthetic pesticides.As the pesticides are harmful to humans and the environment, the alternative use of biopesticides is demanding.The aim of this study is to evaluate the termiticidal activity of Croton hirtus (C.hirtus) extracts on Amitermes evuncifer.The phytochemical study of the ethanolic extract and the GC/MS analysis of the essential oil of C. hirtus were carried out.The termiticidal activity of C. hirtus extracts was evaluated by contact approach with A. evuncifer workers in Petri dishes using five (5) concentrations of the ethanolic extract and four (4) concentrations of the essential oil.The phytochemical study of the ethanolic extract of C. hirtus showed the presence of terpenes, reducing sugars, flavonoids and sterols.The GC/MS of essential oil revealed caryophyllene (25.48%), germacrene-D (24.19%), elemene (8.25%) and α-humulene (7.69%) as main compounds.All concentrations reduced the survival time and life expectancy of termites.The 4.7 mg/cm 2 concentration of the extract caused a total termite's mortality rate of 0.83 in ± 0.26 days while the 0.3 µL/cm2 concentration of the essential oil caused a total mortality rate of 2.50, in ± 0.55 days.These results showed that ethanolic extract and essential oil of C. hirtus can be used as a bio-insecticide against termites.