Fractions of methanol and ethanol extracts from the heartwood of white cypress pine (
Callitris glaucophylla Thompson et Johnson) were investigated for their repellent activity against subterranean termite
Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki worker using a two-choice semicircular filter paper test at 0.5% (w/w) concentration. Fraction CY-E2 composed of
(−)-citronellic acid, guaiol,
α-,
β-, and
γ-eudesmol isomers as well as an unknown compound, showed the highest statistically significant repellency (97.8% ± 2.2 SEM)
of all fractions tested. Bioactivity-guided fractionations using high-performance liquid chromatography led to the isolation
of two, oxygenated eudesmane-type sesquiterpenes with
α-methylene moieties, both termite-repellent compounds. These compounds were subsequently identified as ilicic acid methyl
ester (IAME) and costic acid by means of spectroscopic analyses, electron impact mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance
spectroscopy. We report the isolation of both IAME and costic acid from
C. glaucophylla heartwood for the first time.
Key words Callitris glaucophylla - Termite repellent activity - Sesquiterpene - Ilicic acid methyl ester - Costic acid
Part of this paper was presented at the 47th Symposium on the Chemistry of Terpenes, Essential Oils, and Aromatics, Tokyo,
November 2003