Metabolism by grasshoppers of volatile chemical constituents from Mangifera indica and Solanum paniculatum leaves

• Published in: Journal of insect physiology 2012-12, Vol.58 (12), p.1663-1668
• Main Authors: Ramos, Clécio S., Ramos, Natália S.M., Da Silva, Rodolfo R., Da Câmara, Cláudio A.G., Almeida, Argus V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; chemical composition; Grasshoppers; Grasshoppers - metabolism; Herbivory; leaves; Mangifera - chemistry; Mangifera indica; Metabolism; Phenylpropanoids; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Sesquiterpenes - metabolism; Solanum; Solanum - chemistry; Solanum paniculatum; spathulenol; volatile compounds; Volatile Organic Compounds - metabolism
• ISSN: 0022-1910; 1879-1611
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.10.007

[Display omitted] ► Changes in the volatile profiles of plants after metabolism by grasshoppers. ► Amount of nerolidol in Solanum paniculatum leaves decreases after metabolism. ► Mango leaves showed presence of phenylpropanoids after metabolism. The chemical volatiles from plant leaves and their biological activities have been extensively studied. However, no studies have addressed plant–chemical volatiles after undergoing the digestive process in host insects. Here we describe for the first time chemical profiles of volatile constituents from Solanum paniculatum and Mangifera indica leaves metabolized by grasshoppers. Both profiles were qualitatively and quantitatively different from the profiles of non-metabolized leaves. The amount of nerolidol, the major constituent of S. paniculatum leaves, decreased and other sesquiterpenes, such as spathulenol, were formed during the digestive process of the grasshopper Chromacris speciosa. In M. indica, the presence of phenylpropanoids was observed (dillapiole, Z-asarone, E-asarone and γ-asarone) in the leaves metabolized by the grasshopper Tropidacris collaris, but these compounds were not found in the non-metabolized leaves.