Isolation of nematicidal constituents from essential oil of Kaempferia galanga L rhizome and their activity against Heterodera avenae Wollenweber

Purpose: To explore the nematicidal activities of the essential oil of Kaempferia galanga rhizomes and its isolated constituents against Heterodera avenae. Methods: Essential oil of K. galanga rhizomes was obtained by hydrodistillation and characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis using HP-5MS column. Evaluation of nematicidal toxicity was performed against juveniles (J2) of H. avenae . The bioactive constituent compounds were isolated and identified from the oil based on bioactivity-directed fractionation. Results: Forty-one components were identified and the main components of the essential oil of K. galanga are as follows: ethyl-ρ-methoxy cinnamate (34.79 %), ethyl cinnamate (20.72%), 1,8-cineole (8.96 %), trans-cinnamaldehyde (7.03%) and borneol (5.64 %). The essential oil exhibited nematicidal activity against the cereal cyst nematode with an LC 50 value of 91.78 μg/mL. Ethyl cinnamate, ethyl ρ-methoxy cinnamate and trans-cinnamaldehyde (median lethal concentration LC 50 = 100.60 μg/ml, 83.04 μg/mL and 94.75 μg/mL, respectively) exhibited stronger nematicidal toxicity than borneol (LC 50 = 734.89 μg/mL) and 1,8-cineole (LC 50 = 921.21 μg/mL) against the cereal cyst nematode. Conclusion: The results indicate that the essential oil of K. galanga and its isolated constituents have a potential for development into natural nematicides for the control of cereal cyst nematodes. Keywords: Kaempferia galanga, Heterodera avenae , Nematicidal activity, Cereal cyst nematodes, Ethyl cinnamate, Ethyl ρ-methoxy cinnamate, Trans-cinnamaldehyde