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

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