RESUMEN
Essential oil from fresh leaves of the shrub Piper corcovadensis (Miq.) C. DC was obtained in 0.21% (w/w) yield by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger type apparatus. Thirty-one components, accounting for 96.61% of the leaf oil, were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major constituents of the oil were 1-butyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene (30.62%), terpinolene (17.44%), trans -caryophyllene (6.27%), α-pinene (5.92%), δ-cadinene (4.92%), and Limonene (4.46%). Bioassays against larvae of the Dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti) revealed that leaf oil (LC50 = 30.52 ppm), terpinolene (LC50 = 31.16 ppm), and pure 1-butyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene (LC50 = 22.1 ppm) possessed larvicidal activities and are able to interfere with the activity of proteases from L4 gut enzymes. Additionally, the essential oil exhibited a strong oviposition deterrent activity at 50 and 5 ppm. This paper constitutes the first report of biological activities associated with the essential oil of leaves of P. corcovadensis.
