Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Stored Products Research, cilt.117, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Sitophilus granarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are among the most destructive stored-grain pests worldwide. This study investigated the chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils (EOs) obtained from Tanacetum parthenium and T. vulgare as eco-friendly control agents. GC–MS analysis identified camphor (39.24%) as the major constituent in T. parthenium and α-thujone (57.56%) in T. vulgare. In contact toxicity assays, T. parthenium EO caused 92.9% mortality in S. granarius, while T. vulgare achieved 53%. Both oils were ineffective against T. castaneum. Repellency tests showed strong, dose-dependent effects, with both oils exhibiting ≥90% repellency against T. castaneum for up to 12 h and >80% against S. granarius at 5% concentration. T. vulgare EO significantly inhibited F1 progeny production of S. granarius (82.7%), outperforming T. parthenium (63%). In vitro enzyme inhibition assays revealed that T. vulgare EO strongly suppressed AChE (87.1%) and BChE (69.5%) activities, whereas T. parthenium showed weaker inhibition. Molecular docking analyses demonstrated that α- and β-thujone, the main components of T. vulgare, directly bind to the catalytic sites of both AChE and BChE enzymes, confirming their potent neurotoxicity. sPLS analysis determined that β-thujone is directly responsible for death and enzyme inhibition, while the more abundant α-thujone is statistically associated with sublethal and behavioral effects such as deterrence and progeny production inhibition. Although T. parthenium exhibits high contact toxicity against S. granarius but shows weak cholinesterase inhibition, sPLS analysis statistically proved a strong synergistic interaction between camphor, the main component driving toxicity, and cis-chrysanthenyl acetate, a minor component. Consequently, these findings demonstrate that essential oils act through both lethal physiological disruption and behavioral responses, highlighting T. vulgare as a promising botanical insecticide and underscoring the need for future work on optimized synergistic formulations.