J Toxicol. 2025 Dec 30;2025:6638848. doi: 10.1155/jt/6638848. eCollection 2025.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acute toxicity of essential oils with repellent potential, diethyltoluamide (DEET), and cypermethrin on Porcellio laevis.
METHODS: Randomized preclinical trial with a factorial and controlled arrangement on three essential oils (Eucalyptus globulus, Mentha piperita, and Cymbopogon citratus) at 0.1%, 1%, and 10%, respectively, DEET at 10% and cypermethrin at 0.1%. Each experimental group consisted of 10 specimens, 2-3-mm-long, of P. laevis. Toxicity was measured by specimen mortality at 3, 24, and 48 h postexposure. Nonparametric inferential statistics were used to compare mortality between the groups. The InfoStat/E software, Version 2020, was used for analysis.
RESULTS: Essential oils at concentrations of 0.1% and 1% showed similar toxicity to each other (mortality of 10%-20%) but significantly lower compared to cypermethrin and DEET (mortality of 100%). However, essential oils at 10% reached median mortality rates above 70%. Likewise, similar effects were observed at concentrations of 0.1% and 1.0% and at 24 and 48 h. The LC 50 at 24 h was 7.8% (CI 95%: 5.2-9.8), 6.1% (CI 95%: 4.9-7.4), and 9.8% (CI 95%: 8.9-10.6) for E. globulus, M. piperita, and C. citratus, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The evaluated essential oils showed lower acute toxicity compared to DEET and cypermethrin, depending on concentration and time.
PMID:41498104 | PMC:PMC12767039 | DOI:10.1155/jt/6638848
