ABSTRACT

Most plant essential oils used today on a commodity scale are obtained by hydrodistillation, a process first attributed to the Persian physician Ali-Ibn Sana, who lived 1000 years ago. Plant essential oils can have a wide array of both acute and sublethal effects on insects and related arthropods. The toxicity of plant essential oils in insects has been the subject of numerous investigations, as shown by a literature survey conducted in late 2014 using the Web of Science database. A search for papers on essential oils associated with insect and arthropod species between 2004 and 2014 produced more than 3600 publications, among which 73" reported acute toxicity. Almost all essential oil terpenoids and related phenols have some volatility, but differences in volatility between specific compounds can give rise to profound differences in fumigant versus topical toxicity.