effects of oliveria decumbens and ferula assa-foetida essential oils and their nanoemulsions on mediterranean flour moth (ephestia kuehniella)

In this study, effects of essential oils and their nanoemulsions extracted from oliveria decumbens flowers and ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum-resin were evaluated on late-instar larvae of the mediterranean flour moth (ephestia kuehniella). the selected concentrations of the essential oils and their nanoemulsions were as follows: o. decumbens essential oils (250, 300, 370, 410, and 490 µl/l), f. assafoetida essential oils (100, 120, 150, 210, and 270 µl/l), o. decumbens essential oil nanoemulsion (170, 230, 300, 350, and 410 µl/l), and f. assa-foetida essential oil nanoemulsion (30, 60, 90, 110, and 130 µl/l). the results showed that the nanoemulsion of f. assa-foetida essential oil was more effective than that of o. decumbens, with a 50% lethal dose (ld50) of 79.249 µl/l being more effective than a 50% lethal dose (ld50) of 284.991 µl/l. in addition, the toxicity levels of f. assa-foetida were considerably higher than those of o. decumbens in both its nanoemulsion and essential oil forms, with lethal dose ratios recorded at 0.278 and 0.456, respectively. these findings suggest that essential oils could serve as an alternative to synthetic pesticides for controlling mediterranean flour moths.