Screening of Five Lamiaceae Essential Oils as Repellents for Sweet Potato Weevil, Cylas Formicarius (F.) (Coleoptera: Brentidae)

In this research, the repellent activity of five Lamiaceae essential oils, Agastache rugosa, Elsholtzia blanda, Elsholtzia ciliata, Elsholtzia penduliflora, and Plectranthus ovatus, was evaluated against sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius using a two-choice test between the essential oil-treated filter paper and the control. E. blanda and A. rugosa essential oils have some sweet potato weevil attractant properties at low dose (<47.16 nl/cm2),while N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET), P. ovatus, E. penduliflora, and E.ciliata essential oils have repellent properties at doses ranging from 15.72 nl/cm2 to 196.49 nl/cm2. The effect of type of essential oil and their dose were interactively associated with repellent efficacy. There was a increase in repellent efficacy as the dose increased for all essential oils. The repellent activities of P. ovatus essential oil and E. penduliflora were higher than the others, and the repellent effects of E. ciliata essential oil and DEET were more dose-dependent than others, indicating that at low dose, P. ovatus and E. penduliflora essential oils have stronger repellent efficacy, but at higher dose DEET and E. ciliata have greater effects. Our findings clearly demonstrate that P. ovatus, E. penduliflora, and E. ciliata essential oils are candidate materials for future investigation as repellent compounds against sweet potato weevil control.

Phenological Assessment for Agronomic Suitability of Some Agastache Species Based on Standardized BBCH Scale

Increasing interest in medicinal plants encourages the growers to consider extending their range of cultivated species. Acclimatization and adaptation of species introduced for cultivation in new areas remain a challenge of modern agriculture. One of the first steps for optimizing the cultivation technology is determining the plant phenology in the local conditions. Therefore, the aim of this research was to provide a standardized phenology scale for Agastache sp. and to apply it in assessing the suitability for cultivation in a local environment of some valuable Agastache species: Agastache scrophulariifolia, Agastache rugosa, Agastache mexicana, Agastache foeniculum and Agastache rugosa ‘After Eight’. During the vegetation period, nine growth stages were identified: germination/emergence, leaf development, formation of side shoots, stem elongation, inflorescence emergence, flowering, fruit development, fruit maturity, senescence and beginning of resting. Observations conducted over two years revealed that the vegetation period increased from 168.8 ± 3.51 days in the first year to 199.0 ± 1.82 days in the second year. In both vegetation periods, the flowering phenophase predominated, but the abundance of precipitations shortened the flowering duration in the second year. The duration of phenophases was highly influenced by growing degree days. Phenological assessment based on a standardized scale can be a useful tool for evaluating cultivation potential and the planning of technological resources.

Agastache rugosa Extract and Its Bioactive Compound Tilianin Suppress Adipogenesis and Lipogenesis on 3T3-L1 Cells

Agastache rugosa, or Korean mint, is an herb used as a spice, food additive and traditional medicinal ingredient. It has desirable effects, such as its antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant properties. A. rugosa contains many phenolic compounds studied for their various health benefits, with the primary components being tilianin. A. rugosa extract (ARE), which was extracted with ethanol and freeze-dried, contained 21.14 ± 0.15 mg/g of tilianin with a total polyphenol content of 38.11 ± 0.88 mg/g. Next, the antiadipogenic effect of A. rugosa and tilianin was clarified using 3T3-L1 cells, which differentiate into adipocytes and develop lipid droplets. 3T3-L1 cells were treated with ARE or tilianin and lipid accumulation (%) was calculated through oil red O staining. Tilianin elicited dose-dependent decrease in lipid accumulation (% of positive control) (30 μM 92.10 ± 1.19%; 50 μM 69.25 ± 1.78%; 70 μM 54.86 ± 1.76%; non-differentiation 18.10 ± 0.32%), assessed by oil-red-O staining, whereas ARE treatments caused consistent diminution in lipid accumulation regardless of dose (100 μM 86.90 ± 4.97%; 200 μM 87.25 ± 4.34%; 400 μM 88.54 ± 2.27%; non-differentiation 17.96 ± 1.30%), indicating that both compounds have anti-obesity effects on adipocytes. Treatment with ARE lowered the mRNA (PPARγ; C/EBPα; FABP4; SREBP1; ACC; FAS) and protein (PPARγ; C/EBPα; SREBP1) levels of adipogenesis and lipogenesis-related factors. Tilianin showed a greater effect on the mRNA levels compared with ARE. Thus, tilianin and ARE may have anti-adipogenic and anti-lipogenic effects on 3T3-L1 cells and be possible candidates of obesity-related supplements.

Productivity of Tibetan lofant (Agastache rugosa) depending on agrotechnical methods of cultivation in the conditions of introduction in the Middle Urals

Research on the introduction of lofant (Agastache rugosa) has been conducted by the Department of Crop Production and Breeding of the Ural State Agrarian University since 2013. Studied by sowing seeds in open ground, especially the growth and development of lofant Tibetan background on the various types of mineral fertilizers, the effect of physiologically active substances comparative assessment of the types and varieties of lofant. The research was carried out in the Uralets agricultural farm, located in the Beloyarskiy district of the Sverdlovsk region. Methods. Phenological and biometric observations of plant growth and development were carried out. The method for laying the experience is generally accepted according to B. A. Dospekhov. This article presents the results of the introduction work on the study of the seedling method of cultivation and application of increasing doses of nitrogen fertilizers, which had the most pronounced effect on productivity, as well as on the structural composition of aboveground biomass – the most important indicator of quality in the preparation of medicinal raw materials. Purpose of research. To identify the features of the formation of productivity of aboveground biomass of the Agastache rugosa in the natural and climatic conditions of the Middle Urals. The task was to study the influence of seedling cultivation method, as well as the introduction of increasing doses of nitrogen fertilizers on the productivity and structural composition of aboveground biomass of Agastache rugosa. Results. The study revealed a clear dependence of the productivity of Agastache rugosa on the time of sowing seeds for seedlings: the earlier the sowing period, the higher the productivity. The maximum yield of medicinal raw materials per unit area was obtained in the I variant (seeding on seedlings – March 10) – 25.2 t/ha, the minimum productivity was formed in the IV variant (seeding on seedlings – April 10), it was 16.2 t/ha, which is 35.7 % lower than in the I variant (on average for 2013–2015). It is established that the higher the level of nitrogen nutrition, the greater the biological productivity. The maximum productivity (on average for 2018–2020) was 29.5 t/ha (IV variant – N60 kg/ha). Scientific novelty. For the first time, in the conditions of the Middle Urals, the features of the formation of productivity of Agastache rugosa with the seedling method of cultivation and different levels of nitrogen fertilizers were determined. Established: the optimal time for sowing seeds for seedlings and the dose of nitrogen fertilizers, in which Agastache rugosa provides high productivity with an optimal structure of medicinal raw materials.