World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) - University of Port Harcourt
Abstract
The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the fruits of
Myristica fragrans was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty eight
compounds were identified representing 95.9% of the oil. The major
constituents of the oil were \u3b1-pinene (6.4%), Sabinene (37.7%),
\u3b1-pinene (7.3%), myrcene (3.5%),Limonene (4.7%),Terpine-4-ol
(5.8%), safrole (3.4%) and myristicin (6.8%).The essential oil and its
major constituents were evaluated at different dilution against
Microcerotermes beesoni , test termite. The LC50 value of fruit
essential oil is 28.6 mg/g. Furthermore, exposure to myristicin caused
100% mortality at a dosage of 5 mg/g after 14d