Chemical Analyses of Volatile Compounds from Cuticular and Non-cuticular Abdominal Glands of African Weaver Ants (Oecophylla longinoda)

Sterols are essential to insects because they are vital for many biochemical processes, nevertheless insects cannot synthesize sterols but have to acquire them through their diet. Studies of sterols in ants are sparse and here the sterols of the weaver ant genus Oecophylla are identified for the first time. The sterol profile and the dietary sterols provided to a laboratory Oecophylla longinoda colony were analyzed. Most sterols originated from the diet, except one, which was probably formed via dealkylation in the ants and two sterols of fungal origin, which likely originate from hitherto unidentified endosymbionts responsible for supplying these two compounds. The sterol profile of a wild Oecophylla smaragdina colony was also investigated. Remarkable qualitative similarities were established between the two species despite the differences in diet, species, and origin. This may reflect a common sterol need/aversion in the weaver ants. Additionally, each individual caste of both species displayed unique sterol profiles.

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Antimicrobial Activity of Abdominal Gland Extracts of African Weaver Ants (Oecophylla longinoda) on Isolated Microorganisms from Kola Nut Pods

ACTA SCIENTIFIC MICROBIOLOGY ◽

10.31080/asmi.2018.01.0011 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 9-14

Author(s):

Oladunmoye MK ◽

Akinmaye AS ◽

Oladosu TO

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Activity ◽

Weaver Ants ◽

Oecophylla Longinoda

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Weaver Ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Performance in Mango and Cashew Trees Under Different Management Regimens

Sociobiology ◽

10.13102/sociobiology.v65i2.1017 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 208

Author(s):

Rosine Brisso Wargui ◽

Appolinaire Adandonon ◽

Antonio Sinzogan ◽

Florence Mahouton Anato ◽

Jean-François Vayssières ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Performance Measure ◽

Chemical Insecticide ◽

Weaver Ants ◽

Weaver Ant ◽

Oecophylla Longinoda ◽

Sugar Feeding ◽

Index Value ◽

Plantation Crops

Weaver ants are used for biological control of insect pests in plantation crops. To obtain proper pest control, ant densities need to be high. Food availability and nesting facilities on host plants and management practices may affect ant performance. In the present study, we tested the effect of two host plant species (mango and cashew) and three different management practices (ants only, ants fed with sugar and ants combined with the soft chemical insecticide Spinosad) on weaver ant performance. Performance was assessed over a 22 month period, as an index value based on the number of ant trails per tree and as the number of ant nests per tree. A total of 216 trees (72 per treatment) were observed in each crop. In all treatments, the ants performed better in mango compared to cashew. Using the index based performance measure, ants also performed better in the sugar treatment as compared to the two other treatments, whereas this was not the case in cashew. We conclude that sugar feeding can be used to increase ant populations in mango. We also found that the treatment with Spinosad in combination with ants showed performance equal to the treatments with only ants, suggesting that Spinosad did not negatively affect ant populations. We therefore conclude that Spinosad is compatible with the use of weaver ants in integrated pest management programs.

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Phytochemistry, Toxicology, and Pharmacological Properties of Origanum elongatum

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2021/6658593 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Balahbib Abdelaali ◽

Naoual El Menyiy ◽

Nasreddine El Omari ◽

Taoufiq Benali ◽

Fatima-Ezzahrae Guaouguaou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plant ◽

Corrosion Inhibitor ◽

Volatile Compounds ◽

Biological Effects ◽

Chemical Compounds ◽

Pharmacological Properties ◽

Pharmacological Effects ◽

Chemical Analyses ◽

Botanical Description ◽

Hepatoprotective Effects

Origanum elongatum L. is an endemic aromatic and medicinal plant. This work reports previous studies on O. elongatum concerning its taxonomy, botanical description, geographical distribution, bioactive compounds, toxicology, and biological effects. Chemical analyses showed that O. elongatum contains different chemical compounds, in particular volatile compounds. Pharmacological investigations showed that volatile compounds and extracts from O. elongatum exhibit different pharmacological properties, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, vasodilator, corrosion inhibitor, and hepatoprotective effects. Moreover, toxicological reports revealed the safety of this species. The pharmacological effects of O. elongatum could be correlated with the main compounds, which exhibit different pharmacological properties with numerous mechanism insights.

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