The insecticidal activity of Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip. extracts obtained by supercritical fluid extraction and hydrodistillation

CO2 extracts and essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from feverfew aerial parts were applied to Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) larvae to examine their effects on mortality, antifeedancy and growth inhibition, and their composition of volatile substances was determined using GC. The mortality strongly correlates with the content of terpenoids in the samples, the lowest LD50 being for essential oil (0.05 μl/g) and SFE2 (0.11 μl/g). The extracts obtained with CO2, pure or modified by acetone, at 280 bar and 50 °C were more efficient antifeedants and growth inhibitors than the essential oil alone, showing the combined effect of essential oil and non-volatile bioactive substances.