Abstract
Cucurbitacins are feeding stimulants for diabroticite beetles, including corn rootworms and cucumber beetles, which can be added to a bait containing an insecticide thereby reducing the levels of other insecticide treatments needed to control these pests. One of them, cucurbitacin E- glycoside, is water soluble and easily processed from mutant bitter Hawkesbury watermelons (BHW) that express elevated levels of cucurbitacin. Storage of BHW extract at room temperature resulted in a 92% reduction of cucurbitacin E-glycoside over two months, while refrigeration or freezing resulted in a 60% loss of the active ingredient during this time. The loss of the active ingredient was correlated with an increase in BHW extract pH from 5 to greater than 9. The increase in pH of the BHW extracts at room temperature appeared to be due to the growth of certain bacteria, especially Bacillus spp. In refrigerated extracts, the pH remained relatively constant, and bacterial growth was dominated by bacteria such as Lactobacilli. An alternative to refrigeration is concentration of BHW extract. One means of concentration is spray drying, but the high sugar content of the BHW extract (20mg/ml glucose, 40mg/ml fructose) makes this technique impractical. Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, eliminated the sugars and did not raise the pH nor alter the cucurbitacin E-glycoside content of the extract. Elimination of the sugars by fermentation produced an extract that could be successfully spray dried. BHW extract fermented by S. boulardii produced a higher level of feeding stimulation for spotted cucumber beetles in laboratory choice tests. When applied to cucumbers, there was no difference in control of spotted and striped cucumber beetles between baits of fresh or fermented juices combined with the same insecticide.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Room-temperature storage reduced cucurbitacin E-glycoside in watermelon extract by 92% in two months.
- Taxon
- watermelon
Citrullus lanatust0 - Material
- BHWe0
- Treatment
- Storage of BHW extract at room temperaturee0
- Outcome
- cucurbitacin E-glycosidee0
- Direction
- reductione0
- Value
- 92%e0
- Qualifier
- over two monthse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Storage of BHW extract at room temperature resulted in a 92% reduction of cucurbitacin E-glycoside over two months, while refrigeration or freezing resulted in a 60% loss of the active ingredient during this time.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Refrigeration or freezing caused a 60% loss of active ingredient in two months.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- refrigeration or freezinge0
- Outcome
- active ingrediente0
- Direction
- losse0
- Value
- 60%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“refrigeration or freezing resulted in a 60% loss of the active ingredient during this time.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Loss of active ingredient correlated with a pH increase from 5 to greater than 9.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Material
- BHWe0
- Outcome
- loss of the active ingrediente0
- Direction
- losse0
- Qualifier
- increase in BHW extract pH from 5 to greater than 9e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The loss of the active ingredient was correlated with an increase in BHW extract pH from 5 to greater than 9.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Bacterial growth, especially Bacillus, appeared to cause the pH increase at room temperature.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- increase in pH of the BHW extractse0
- Qualifier
- growth of certain bacteria, especially Bacillus spp.e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in pH of the BHW extracts at room temperature appeared to be due to the growth of certain bacteria, especially Bacillus spp.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Refrigerated extract pH remained relatively constant.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- pH remained relatively constante0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In refrigerated extracts, the pH remained relatively constant, and bacterial growth was dominated by bacteria such as Lactobacilli.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Lactobacilli dominated bacterial growth in refrigerated extracts.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- bacterial growth was dominated by bacteria such as Lactobacillie0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In refrigerated extracts, the pH remained relatively constant, and bacterial growth was dominated by bacteria such as Lactobacilli.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Sugar content made spray drying impractical for untreated extract.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Outcome
- makes this technique impracticale0
- Qualifier
- high sugar content of the BHW extracte0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the high sugar content of the BHW extract (20mg/ml glucose, 40mg/ml fructose) makes this technique impractical.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Yeast fermentation eliminated sugars from watermelon extract.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardiie0
- Outcome
- sugarse0
- Direction
- eliminatede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, eliminated the sugars and did not raise the pH nor alter the cucurbitacin E-glycoside content of the extract.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Yeast fermentation did not raise watermelon extract pH.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardiie0
- Outcome
- pHe0
- Direction
- did not raisee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, eliminated the sugars and did not raise the pH nor alter the cucurbitacin E-glycoside content of the extract.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Yeast fermentation did not alter cucurbitacin E-glycoside content.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardiie0
- Outcome
- cucurbitacin E-glycoside contente0
- Direction
- nor altere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fermentation of the BHW extract by the yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, eliminated the sugars and did not raise the pH nor alter the cucurbitacin E-glycoside content of the extract.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Fermentation allowed the extract to be spray dried.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- fermentatione0
- Outcome
- could be successfully spray driede0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Elimination of the sugars by fermentation produced an extract that could be successfully spray dried.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Fermented extract increased feeding stimulation for spotted cucumber beetles.
- Taxon
- watermelonCitrullus lanatust0
- Treatment
- fermented by S. boulardiie0
- Interactor
- spotted cucumber beetles
.jpg?width=60)
Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardie0pest - Outcome
- feeding stimulation for spotted cucumber beetlese0
- Direction
- highere0
- Setting
- laboratory choice testse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“BHW extract fermented by S. boulardii produced a higher level of feeding stimulation for spotted cucumber beetles in laboratory choice tests.”
t0“watermelon”
Claim · model-written summary
Fresh and fermented baits gave equivalent control of spotted cucumber beetles on cucumbers.
- Taxon
- cucumbers
Cucumis sativuse0 - Treatment
- baits of fresh or fermented juices combined with the same insecticidee0
- Interactor
- spottede0pest
- Outcome
- control of spottede0
- Direction
- no differencee0
- Comparator
- fresh or fermented juicese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“When applied to cucumbers, there was no difference in control of spotted and striped cucumber beetles between baits of fresh or fermented juices combined with the same insecticide.”
Claim · model-written summary
Fresh and fermented baits gave equivalent control of striped cucumber beetles on cucumbers.
- Taxon
- cucumbersCucumis sativuse0
- Treatment
- baits of fresh or fermented juices combined with the same insecticidee0
- Interactor
- striped cucumber beetles
Acalymma vittatume0pest - Outcome
- control of spotted and striped cucumber beetlese0
- Direction
- no differencee0
- Comparator
- fresh or fermented juicese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“When applied to cucumbers, there was no difference in control of spotted and striped cucumber beetles between baits of fresh or fermented juices combined with the same insecticide.”
The same questions in other papers
insecticide · Acalymma vittatum · Cucumis sativus (cucumber)Positive and negative results
1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
botanical · molecular: metabolites · Citrullus lanatus (watermelon)Positive and negative results
1 in the opposite direction
- positive
insecticide · control · Cucumis sativus (cucumber)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- no effect
processing · control · Cucumis sativus (cucumber)Positive and negative results
4 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.