Toxicity and Physiological Effects of Nine Essential Oils and Their Major Compounds on .

The volatile metabolites of , , , , , , , and were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The vapor insecticidal properties of the analyzed essential oils and their compounds were screened using workers. The most effective oils were (major constituent linalyl acetate, 65.93%), (1,8-cineole, 45.56%), (thymol, 33.59%), M. spicata (carvone, 58.68%), (citronellal, 36.99%), (1,8-cineole, 62.29%), (menthol, 46.04%), (eugenol, 71.08%) and (linalool, 39.58%), which exhibited LC values ranging from 0.036 to 1.670 μL/L. The lowest LC values were recorded for eugenol (0.060 μL/L), followed by thymol (0.062 μL/L), carvone (0.074 μL/L), menthol (0.242 μL/L), linalool (0.250 μL/L), citronellal (0.330 μL/L), linalyl acetate (0.712 μL/L) and 1,8-cineole (1.478 μL/L). The increased activity of esterases (ESTs) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were observed but only alongside the decreased activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in eight main components. Our results indicate that , , , , , , , and essential oils (EOs) and their compounds, linalyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, thymol, carvone, citronellal, menthol, eugenol and linalool could be developed as control agents against termites.