Insects that attack stored grain and pulses cause large losses of food, and the chemicals used against them are becoming less effective as the insects develop resistance. Plant extracts are one possible alternative. We tested extracts of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae), an ornamental plant grown widely in gardens and homes, against three of the most damaging stored-product pests: the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) and the rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae (L.). Dried plant material was extracted in turn with three solvents, petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol, which draw out different groups of plant chemicals. Adult insects were exposed to four doses of each extract, in three dishes of ten insects per dose, and dead insects were counted every 6 hours for 48 hours. The petroleum ether and methanol extracts killed all three pests, whereas the chloroform extract killed none. The petroleum ether extract was the most toxic: after 24 hours, the dose needed to kill half of the insects was 0.22 mg cm−2 for the red flour beetle and about 0.64 mg cm−2 for the other two pests, and it was two to six times more potent than the methanol extract. Mortality kept rising with time in every case, so less extract was needed the longer the insects were exposed, and at the highest petroleum ether doses half of the insects died within about 6 to 11 hours. These results show that S. podophyllum contains compounds that are toxic to major storage pests, mainly in its non-polar fraction. Identifying these compounds, and testing them on stored grain under practical conditions, are the next steps.
| Published in | International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology (Volume 11, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12 |
| Page(s) | 51-65 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Botanical Insecticide, Plant Extract, Stored-product Pests, Araceae, Median Lethal Dose, Median Lethal Time, Tribolium Castaneum, Sitophilus Oryzae
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APA Style
Hoque, N., Kamal, T., Islam, M. N., Rahman, M. H. (2026). Time- and Dose-dependent Toxicity of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae) Plant Extracts to Three Major Stored-product Pests. International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology, 11(3), 51-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12
ACS Style
Hoque, N.; Kamal, T.; Islam, M. N.; Rahman, M. H. Time- and Dose-dependent Toxicity of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae) Plant Extracts to Three Major Stored-product Pests. Int. J. Ecotoxicol. Ecobiol. 2026, 11(3), 51-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12
AMA Style
Hoque N, Kamal T, Islam MN, Rahman MH. Time- and Dose-dependent Toxicity of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae) Plant Extracts to Three Major Stored-product Pests. Int J Ecotoxicol Ecobiol. 2026;11(3):51-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12,
author = {Nazmul Hoque and Tandid Kamal and Md. Nurul Islam and M. Habibur Rahman},
title = {Time- and Dose-dependent Toxicity of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae) Plant Extracts to Three Major Stored-product Pests},
journal = {International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology},
volume = {11},
number = {3},
pages = {51-65},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijee.20261103.12},
abstract = {Insects that attack stored grain and pulses cause large losses of food, and the chemicals used against them are becoming less effective as the insects develop resistance. Plant extracts are one possible alternative. We tested extracts of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae), an ornamental plant grown widely in gardens and homes, against three of the most damaging stored-product pests: the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) and the rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae (L.). Dried plant material was extracted in turn with three solvents, petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol, which draw out different groups of plant chemicals. Adult insects were exposed to four doses of each extract, in three dishes of ten insects per dose, and dead insects were counted every 6 hours for 48 hours. The petroleum ether and methanol extracts killed all three pests, whereas the chloroform extract killed none. The petroleum ether extract was the most toxic: after 24 hours, the dose needed to kill half of the insects was 0.22 mg cm−2 for the red flour beetle and about 0.64 mg cm−2 for the other two pests, and it was two to six times more potent than the methanol extract. Mortality kept rising with time in every case, so less extract was needed the longer the insects were exposed, and at the highest petroleum ether doses half of the insects died within about 6 to 11 hours. These results show that S. podophyllum contains compounds that are toxic to major storage pests, mainly in its non-polar fraction. Identifying these compounds, and testing them on stored grain under practical conditions, are the next steps.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Time- and Dose-dependent Toxicity of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae) Plant Extracts to Three Major Stored-product Pests AU - Nazmul Hoque AU - Tandid Kamal AU - Md. Nurul Islam AU - M. Habibur Rahman Y1 - 2026/10/28 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12 T2 - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology JF - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology JO - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology SP - 51 EP - 65 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-1735 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20261103.12 AB - Insects that attack stored grain and pulses cause large losses of food, and the chemicals used against them are becoming less effective as the insects develop resistance. Plant extracts are one possible alternative. We tested extracts of Syngonium podophyllum Schott (Araceae), an ornamental plant grown widely in gardens and homes, against three of the most damaging stored-product pests: the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) and the rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae (L.). Dried plant material was extracted in turn with three solvents, petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol, which draw out different groups of plant chemicals. Adult insects were exposed to four doses of each extract, in three dishes of ten insects per dose, and dead insects were counted every 6 hours for 48 hours. The petroleum ether and methanol extracts killed all three pests, whereas the chloroform extract killed none. The petroleum ether extract was the most toxic: after 24 hours, the dose needed to kill half of the insects was 0.22 mg cm−2 for the red flour beetle and about 0.64 mg cm−2 for the other two pests, and it was two to six times more potent than the methanol extract. Mortality kept rising with time in every case, so less extract was needed the longer the insects were exposed, and at the highest petroleum ether doses half of the insects died within about 6 to 11 hours. These results show that S. podophyllum contains compounds that are toxic to major storage pests, mainly in its non-polar fraction. Identifying these compounds, and testing them on stored grain under practical conditions, are the next steps. VL - 11 IS - 3 ER -
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh;Institute of Environmental Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Institute of Environmental Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
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