Biocidal effects of extracts from Artemisia assoana cultivated under different environmental conditions

Trabajo presentado en el European Congress on Natural Products and Biocontrol celebrado en Perpignan (Francia) del 24 al 26 de septiembre de 2014.The genus Artemisia L. (Asteraceae) comprises about 500 species mostly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere (Bora and Sharma, 2011). Some of the species of this genus have shown to be antiparasitic, antihelmintic, acaricidal and insect repellent (see Gonzalez-Coloma, 2012). As part of our ongoing taxonomically-oriented bioprospection of Artemisia sp (Gonzalez-Coloma, 2012) we have selected A.assoana, a rare plant with an Ibero-Mediterranean distribution that grows in degraded grazed land in continental climate at 900-2000 m. A. assoana has been reported to contain phenolic and acetylenic metabolites (Martinez et al., 1987). Similarly, artificially cultivated A.granatensis has been reported as a strong aphid-repellent based on its content in poliacetylenic spiroacetals (Barrero et al., 2013). Plant material and cuttings were obtained from a wild population growing in Teruel (Spain). These cuttings have been kept in a greenhouse and further multiplied to establish artificial (Aeroponic and in vitro transformed root), greenhouse and field cultivations. Volatile (Clevenger distillation) and organic extracts (Sohxlet ethanolic extraction) have been obtained from wild aerial, aeroponic aerial and root, in vitro transformed root, and field aerial parts and the extracts have been tested against herbivorous insects (Myzus persicae, Rhopalosiphum padi and Spodoptera littoralis), plant parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne javanica), plants (Latuca sativa and Lolium perenne) and the insect vector Rhodnius prolixus, (vector of Chagas disease). Additionally, the trypanocidal activity of these extracts on epimastigote forms of Trypanosorna cruzi Y strain has been tested. In this presentation we will discuss on the sustainable production of A. assoana plant biomass to generate bioactive extracts. The metabolic profiles of these extracts will be correlated with their bioactivity.Peer Reviewe