Planta Med. 2000 Mar; 66(2): 173-5.

Squamocin and benzyl benzoate, acaricidal components of Uvaria pauci-ovulata bark extracts.

Raynaud S, Fourneau C, Laurens A, Hocquemiller R, Loiseau P, Bories C.

Annonaceae have been commonly described in traditional medicine as remedies against head lice and for their insecticidal properties. Acaricidal effects of Uvaria pauci-ovulata bark extracts were investigated on Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, the European house dust mite, and compared with those of benzyl benzoate used as standard acaricidal compound. A dichloromethane extract was the most effective with an EC50 = 0.028 g/m2 after a 24 h period as compared with benzyl benzoate (EC50 = 0.06 g/m2). Bioassay-guided fractionation of this extract led to the isolation of benzyl benzoate and squamocin; this latter compound also had acaricidal properties (EC50 = 0.6 g/m2). Moreover, squamocin was shown to potentiate the activity of benzyl benzoate using the fractional effective concentration (FEC) method.