{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,4]],"date-time":"2025-11-04T16:08:52Z","timestamp":1762272532060,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,11]],"date-time":"2020-03-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1583884800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007637","name":"Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnolog\u00eda e Innovaci\u00f3n (COLCIENCIAS)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["567"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["567"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007637","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Leaf-cutter ants are agricultural and urban pests that defy chemical control methods. Laboratory and field studies have revealed repellent and insecticidal activity by the extracts of Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae), known as Mexican sunflower, as a promising alternative for the control of the leaf-cutter ant Atta cephalotes. This study evaluated the effects of different extracts (non-polar and polar) of T. diversifolia dry leaves on worker ants from laboratory colonies of A. cephalotes through ingestion and contact. In addition, the biological activity of the extracts as inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was evaluated. A dichloromethane extract at 1000 ppm presented the highest insecticidal activity through ingestion, causing 70% and 90% worker ant mortality after five and seven days of treatment, respectively. The acetylcholinesterase inhibition values showed that the dichloromethane presented the best AChE concentration of inhibition (IC50) at 73.9 \u00b1 11.06 \u03bcg\/mL, compared to its fractions, which demonstrates that its activity is potentiated when the crude extract is used. Our results can be attributed to the existence of terpenes and sesquiterpene lactones, which are likely inhibitors of AChE, in T. diversifolia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects11030180","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,12]],"date-time":"2020-03-12T04:13:57Z","timestamp":1583986437000},"page":"180","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Insecticidal and Cholinesterase Activity of Dichloromethane Extracts of Tithonia diversifolia on Atta cephalotes Worker Ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6721-5549","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kriss D.","family":"Pantoja-Pulido","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Estad\u00edstica, Facultad de Ciencias B\u00e1sicas, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Calle 5 No. 62-00. Cali 760033, Colombia"},{"name":"Departamento de Qu\u00edmica, Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n de Productos Naturales y Alimentos, Universidad del Valle, Avenida Pasoancho No. 100-00. Cali 760034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4928-8941","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jonathan","family":"Rodr\u00edguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Biolog\u00eda, Grupo de Ecolog\u00eda de Agroecosistemas y H\u00e1bitats Naturales (GEAHNA), Universidad del Valle, Avenida Pasoancho No. 100-00. Cali 760034, Colombia"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Entomologia e Fitopatologia (LEF-CCTA), Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes 28013, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3186-4851","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 H.","family":"Isaza-Mart\u00ednez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Qu\u00edmica, Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n de Productos Naturales y Alimentos, Universidad del Valle, Avenida Pasoancho No. 100-00. Cali 760034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Margarita","family":"Guti\u00e9rrez-Cabrera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de S\u00edntesis Org\u00e1nica y Actividad Biol\u00f3gica, Instituto de Qu\u00edmica de los Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Talca, Talca 346000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ana J.","family":"Colmenares-Dulcey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Qu\u00edmica, Grupo de Investigaci\u00f3n de Productos Naturales y Alimentos, Universidad del Valle, Avenida Pasoancho No. 100-00. Cali 760034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2122-1323","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"James","family":"Montoya-Lerma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Biolog\u00eda, Grupo de Ecolog\u00eda de Agroecosistemas y H\u00e1bitats Naturales (GEAHNA), Universidad del Valle, Avenida Pasoancho No. 100-00. Cali 760034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1101","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jinsphys.2007.06.014","article-title":"Digestive enzymes in larvae of the leaf cutting ant, Acromyrmex subterraneus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini)","volume":"53","author":"Erthal","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Insect. 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