Acaricidal activity of the essential oils from leaves, flower buds and stems of Tetradenia riparia on Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Parasitic diseases are considered one of the main problems in cattle breeding worldwide, especially those caused by ticks. These parasites are responsible for generating huge financial losses. However, the use of commercial acaricides can cause contamination of the environment and toxicity to non-target organisms. In view of this, there is interest by the international market in the use of natural products that promote sustainable development throughout the production chain. The objective of this work was to verify the acaricidal effect on Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus by essential oils (EOs) of Tetradenia riparia. The EOs were obtained via hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus and the chemical composition was determined via gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The major chemical classes were sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes (oxygenates and hydrocarbons). To determine the acaricidal activity of EOs on adults, immersion tests were performed with solutions prepared in 10 concentrations (100,000–190 µg/mL v/v). Treatments with EOs acaricidal effects, and flower buds were the organs that achieved the best success (product efficiency = 89.75%) at the highest concentration of 100,000 µg/mL. The results provide strong evidence that the bioactive properties present in the EOs of T. riparia have irrefutable attributes for the strategic control of ticks, and, in the future, these could be explored as a promising natural and ecologically sustainable acaricide.