A comparative study was undertaken of different extraction methods for the isolation of volatile organic compounds from Murraya koenigii (curry leaf plant). The techniques studied included the traditional methods of extraction, namely, Soxhlet and solvent extraction as well as steam distillation. The solvent–free extraction techniques of headspace analysis and headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) were also investigated. In the evaluation of SPME, two different fibre coatings, poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(acrylate), were compared. Preliminary work to determine the effect of extraction parameters, such as extraction time, was carried out. The volatile oils in the fresh leaves of Murraya koenigii were isolated by the above-mentioned extraction methods and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main aroma contributing compounds were identified by comparison of their retention times with those of standards and their mass spectra with those of known compounds contained in the National Institute of Science and Technology Standard Reference Database 1A (NIST 98). The essential oil contained mainly terpenes: monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. The constituents were identified and only the five selected analytes of interest, a-pinene, β-pinene, a-phellandrene, β-caryophyllene and a-caryophyllene were quantified in three of the methods, namely solvent extraction, soxhlet extraction and steam distillation. From the quantitative determination of the compounds of interest, steam distillation favoured the extraction of β-caryophyllene. The solvent and Soxhlet extractions showed no significant differences between the quantities obtained for a- and β- caryophyllene. The steam distillation and Soxhlet methods showed similar quantities of a-caryophyllene extracted. The extraction of the monoterpenes, a-pinene, β-pinene, and a-phellandrene, was favoured by the Soxhlet method of extraction. Quantification was difficult with HS-SPME and headspace analysis. Headspace analysis proved effective in the detection of the very volatile analytes. Headspace-SPME combined with GC-MS was found to be suitable for the identification of both monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes of M. koenigii. From this study, solvent extraction and Soxhlet extraction were found to be superior to the other methods studied for the characterisation and quantitation of the volatile organic compounds in essential oils of Murraya koenigii. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Atualmente, o controle da doença Huanglongbing (HLB) ou greening é baseado, principalmente, no controle químico do inseto vetor Diaphorina citri, realizado por meio de aplicações intensivas de produtos químicos, o que vem causando surtos de pragas secundárias, ressurgência de pragas, seleção de população resistente e eliminação dos inimigos naturais. Com esse trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar a possibilidade da utilização da planta de curry (Murraya koenigii) como planta-isca para o manejo do psilídeo D. citri. Para isso, foram realizados os seguintes testes: i) teste de transmissão de \'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus\' para determinar se a planta de curry não é hospedeira da bactéria; ii) teste de comportamento de escolha, para verificar a preferência hospedeira de D. citri em plantas de curry em relação a citros; iii) teste de comportamento alimentar do psilídeo por meio da técnica de Electrical Penetration Graphs (EPG) em plantas de curry, visando entender a alimentação do inseto nessa planta; iv) seleção de inseticidas sistêmicos para uso em plantas de curry, determinando o período residual e eficiência; e v) teste com plantio-isca em um talhão de citros, no qual foram instaladas plantas de curry em frente as plantas de citros e o psilídeo foi monitorado com o uso de armadilhas adesivas amarelas. Como resultado, observouse que a planta de curry não é hospedeira da bactéria \'Ca. L. asiaticus\' por meio da inoculação pelo psilídeo D. citri, e, em teste de livre escolha e de olfatômetro, é mais atrativa para o psilídeo do que a planta de citros, em condições laboratoriais. O comportamento alimentar do psilídeo em plantas de curry é diferente do que em citros e murta, sendo que o consumo da seiva do xilema em plantas de curry é maior. Além disso, inseticidas aplicados via \'drench\', como thiamethoxam e imidacloprid, nessa planta, são eficientes contra D. citri, pois controlam o psilídeo adulto por mais de 70 dias após a aplicação e, no campo, a captura de espécimes nas parcelas com a planta de curry foi maior, podendo concluir, portanto, que a planta de curry M. koenigii apresenta potencial para ser utilizada como plantio isca para manejo do psilídeo D. citri e, consequentemente, da doença HLB. / Currently, the control of the disease Huanglongbing (HLB) or greening is based mainly on the chemical control of the insect vector Diaphorina citri, through intensive applications of insecticides, which has been causing secondary pest outbreaks, pest resurgence, selection of population resistant and elimination of natural enemies. The goal of this work was to evaluate the possibility of using the curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) as a trap crop for the management of the D. citri. For this, the following tests have been performed: i) Transmission test of \'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus\' to determine if the curry leaf is not a host for the bacterium; ii) test of choice behavior, to verify the host preference of D. citri to curry leaves in relation to citrus plants; iii) test of probing behavior in curry leaf using the Electrical Penetration Graphs (EPG) technique, in order to understand the feeding of the insect on this plant; iv) selection of systemic insecticides for use in curry leaf, determining the residual period and efficiency; and v) test with trap crop in a citrus orchard, in which curry plants were installed in front of the citrus plants and the psyllid was monitored with the yellow stick traps. As a result, it has been observed that the curry leaf is not a host to \'Ca. L. asiaticus\' by the D. citri inoculation and, in a free choice and olfactometer test, is more attractive to the psyllid than the citrus plant under laboratory conditions. The probing behavior of the psyllid in curry leaf is different from citrus and orange jasmine, being the ingestion of xylem sap in curry leaf higher. In addition, the insecticides applied by \'drench\' such as thiamethoxam and imidacloprid in these plants are efficient against D. citri for more than 70 days after application and, in the field, the capture of psyllids in the plots with the curry leaf was higher and could therefore conclude that, the curry leaf M. koenigii is a potencial plant to be used as a trap crop for the management of D. citri and consequently, the disease HLB.

Atualmente, o controle da doença Huanglongbing (HLB) ou greening é baseado, principalmente, no controle químico do inseto vetor Diaphorina citri, realizado por meio de aplicações intensivas de produtos químicos, o que vem causando surtos de pragas secundárias, ressurgência de pragas, seleção de população resistente e eliminação dos inimigos naturais. Com esse trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar a possibilidade da utilização da planta de curry (Murraya koenigii) como planta-isca para o manejo do psilídeo D. citri. Para isso, foram realizados os seguintes testes: i) teste de transmissão de \'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus\' para determinar se a planta de curry não é hospedeira da bactéria; ii) teste de comportamento de escolha, para verificar a preferência hospedeira de D. citri em plantas de curry em relação a citros; iii) teste de comportamento alimentar do psilídeo por meio da técnica de Electrical Penetration Graphs (EPG) em plantas de curry, visando entender a alimentação do inseto nessa planta; iv) seleção de inseticidas sistêmicos para uso em plantas de curry, determinando o período residual e eficiência; e v) teste com plantio-isca em um talhão de citros, no qual foram instaladas plantas de curry em frente as plantas de citros e o psilídeo foi monitorado com o uso de armadilhas adesivas amarelas. Como resultado, observouse que a planta de curry não é hospedeira da bactéria \'Ca. L. asiaticus\' por meio da inoculação pelo psilídeo D. citri, e, em teste de livre escolha e de olfatômetro, é mais atrativa para o psilídeo do que a planta de citros, em condições laboratoriais. O comportamento alimentar do psilídeo em plantas de curry é diferente do que em citros e murta, sendo que o consumo da seiva do xilema em plantas de curry é maior. Além disso, inseticidas aplicados via \'drench\', como thiamethoxam e imidacloprid, nessa planta, são eficientes contra D. citri, pois controlam o psilídeo adulto por mais de 70 dias após a aplicação e, no campo, a captura de espécimes nas parcelas com a planta de curry foi maior, podendo concluir, portanto, que a planta de curry M. koenigii apresenta potencial para ser utilizada como plantio isca para manejo do psilídeo D. citri e, consequentemente, da doença HLB. / Currently, the control of the disease Huanglongbing (HLB) or greening is based mainly on the chemical control of the insect vector Diaphorina citri, through intensive applications of insecticides, which has been causing secondary pest outbreaks, pest resurgence, selection of population resistant and elimination of natural enemies. The goal of this work was to evaluate the possibility of using the curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) as a trap crop for the management of the D. citri. For this, the following tests have been performed: i) Transmission test of \'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus\' to determine if the curry leaf is not a host for the bacterium; ii) test of choice behavior, to verify the host preference of D. citri to curry leaves in relation to citrus plants; iii) test of probing behavior in curry leaf using the Electrical Penetration Graphs (EPG) technique, in order to understand the feeding of the insect on this plant; iv) selection of systemic insecticides for use in curry leaf, determining the residual period and efficiency; and v) test with trap crop in a citrus orchard, in which curry plants were installed in front of the citrus plants and the psyllid was monitored with the yellow stick traps. As a result, it has been observed that the curry leaf is not a host to \'Ca. L. asiaticus\' by the D. citri inoculation and, in a free choice and olfactometer test, is more attractive to the psyllid than the citrus plant under laboratory conditions. The probing behavior of the psyllid in curry leaf is different from citrus and orange jasmine, being the ingestion of xylem sap in curry leaf higher. In addition, the insecticides applied by \'drench\' such as thiamethoxam and imidacloprid in these plants are efficient against D. citri for more than 70 days after application and, in the field, the capture of psyllids in the plots with the curry leaf was higher and could therefore conclude that, the curry leaf M. koenigii is a potencial plant to be used as a trap crop for the management of D. citri and consequently, the disease HLB.