Please cite this article in press as: J. Scapinello, et al., Effects of supercritical CO 2 extracts of Melia azedarach L. on the control of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), J. Supercrit. Fluids (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2014.05.008 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model SUPFLU-2976; No. of Pages 7 J. of Supercritical Fluids xxx (2014) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Journal of Supercritical Fluids j our na l ho me page: www.elsevier.com/locate/supflu Effects of supercritical CO 2 extracts of Melia azedarach L. on the control of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) Jaqueline Scapinello a,∗ , J. Vladimir Oliveira b , Marcelo Lucas Ribeiros a , Osmar Tomazelli Jr. a,c , Luís Antonio Chiaradia c , Jacir Dal Magro a a Environmental Sciences Area, Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó (Unochapecó), PO Box 1141, Chapecó, SC, Brazil b Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, UFSC, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil c Epagri - Research Center for Family Farming, PO Box 791, Chapecó, SC 89801-970, Brazil a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 3 July 2013 Received in revised form 1 May 2014 Accepted 7 May 2014 Available online xxx Keywords: Bioinsecticide SC-CO2 extraction Spodoptera frugiperda Chinaberry a b s t r a c t This work reports the use of Melia azedarach L. extracts obtained from supercritical carbon dioxide extrac- tion (SC-CO 2 ) as an insecticidal agent against fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). For this purpose, SC-CO 2 extractions were performed, varying the pressure (150–250 bar), temperature (313–333 K), sam- ple particle size and extraction time. Secondary metabolites from the classes of coumarins, sterols and terpenes were identified in the extracts, with the triterpene melianone being the major constituent. For the biological activity tests, diets were prepared with different SC-CO 2 extract concentrations (100, 500, 1000 and 5000 mg/kg) and offered to S. frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The results indicated that mortality increased with increasing extract concentrations with 50% mortality (LC 50 ) at a concentration of 376.74 mg/kg and reaching 100% mortality at 5000 mg/kg. The inhibition of insect growth was observed at higher concentrations due to the antifeedant action of the extract. At the lowest extract concentra- tion (100 mg/kg), ingestion caused low pupal viability and adults presenting morphological deformities, which thus indicated a chronic toxicity effect. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Synthetic pesticides are fast acting; however, these pesticides are often toxic to mammals and to non-target organisms and have a low degradation rate, remaining in the environment for a long time; thus, these pesticides contaminate the air, soil and water [1]. These products are increasingly being produced and used without factual knowledge concerning their effects on both individuals and the environment, as well as in relation to synergistic toxicity [2]. There is an urgent need for the development of ecological pesti- cides due to increasing pesticide safety requirements, and the most adequate alternative seems to be to obtain extracts from plants that have chemically active compounds. Biological pesticides are often as effective as synthetic pesticides, which are non-toxic for most warm-blooded species, reach only the target species and are easily degraded in the presence of ambient air and light [3,4]. Insecticide plant extracts have traditionally been obtained using organic solvents, which must be removed after the extraction ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 49 33218090; fax: +55 49 33218000. E-mail address: jaqueee@unochapeco.edu.br (J. Scapinello). process and which create much waste and hazardous emissions in the atmosphere. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is a well-known method that can be used to overcome these disadvantages, and the solvent most widely used to provide solvent-free analytes is carbon dioxide [5]. Moreover, for the extraction of natural products, the technique requires low temperatures and provides a non-oxidizing method that allows the extraction of thermosensitive compounds [6]. Many insecticide substances derived from plants have high solubility in carbon dioxide under supercritical conditions, and these compounds have considerable resulting extraction yields [4]. Ambrosino et al. [7], Tonthubthimthong et al. [8] and Ismadji et al. [9] have previously extracted compounds of the terpenes class, which have a recognized insecticidal potential, from the meliaceous plant Azadirachta indica A. Juss (neem) using SFE. Extracts of Melia azedarach, which is a species belonging to the Meliaceae family that has been less studied than the aforemen- tioned species, have been obtained using conventional extraction methods and have proven insecticidal properties [10–13]; how- ever, to the best of our knowledge, no report has been found regarding the SFE of Melia azedarach. Some studies with of M. azedarach extracts have been conducted with insects belonging to the genus Spodoptera, followed by genus Epilachna, with promising http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2014.05.008 0896-8446/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.