Production of (5R,6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide, the mosquito ovipositionpheromone, from the seed oil of the summer cypress plant, Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae)

The oviposition pheromone for the pathogen-vectoring mosquitoes in the genu s Culex (Diptera: Culicidae), that is, (5R,GS)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide, is efficiently synthesized, in admixture with the inactive (5S,6R) enantiom er (similar to 33% w/w), from the fixed oil extracted from the seeds of the summer cypress plant, Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae), cultivated on an i ndustrial scale. Oviposition bioassays using gravid females of Culex quinqu efasciatus, a vector of filariasis in human beings, showed that the product was attractive, with activity comparable to that of a pure synthetic sampl e containing the same amount of the active enantiomer. Production of the ph eromone in the form of a biologically active crude material via a cheap and renewable plant suitable for development as a new industrial. crop provide s the basis for control of Cx. quinquefasciatus and other congeneric vector s of pathogens in resource-poor areas of the world.