Insect growth‐reducing and antifeedant activity in Eastern North America hardwood species and bioassay‐guided isolation of active principles from Prunus serotina

Abstract 1 Thirty extracts of wood and bark of hardwood trees from Eastern North America were examined for insect growth‐reducing activity in a bioassay with European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis , and an antifeedant bioassay with the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae . 2 Nine of the bark extracts and four of the wood extracts showed significant growth reducing effects at 0.5% in meridic diets, whereas only two bark extracts and one wood extract showed significant antifeedant effect at the same concentration. 3 Slower growing tree species were more biologically active than fast growing ones. Isolation of the bioactive compounds in one of the active species, Prunus serotina , showed that naringenin, its derivative methoxynaringenin, and eriodictyol were responsible for the antifeedant effects.