Identification of the Cat Attractants Isodihydronepetalactone and Isoiridomyrmecin from Acalypha indica

Adrian Scaffidi, Dave Algar, Björn Bohman, Emilio L. Ghisalberti, Gavin Flematti*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    12 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Acalypha indica is a herb that grows throughout the tropical regions of the world. As well as being exploited for medicinal use, the roots of this plant are known to elicit a drug-like effect in cats. Recent research into feral cat control on Christmas Island has investigated whether a preparation of the roots of A. indica might be effective in traps to attract feral cats. However, the volatile nature of the attractants made it unviable for use in traps for more than a few days. In this study, we investigated the volatile components emitted by the plant roots and identified two iridoid compounds, (4R,4aR,7S,7aR)-isodihydronepetalactone and (4R,4aS,7S,7aR)-isoiridomyrmecin, which are known to affect behavioural activity in cats. Synthesis of standards confirmed the stereochemistry of both compounds emitted by the plant. Potential application of these compounds in feral cat control is discussed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)169-173
    Number of pages5
    JournalAustralian Journal of Chemistry
    Volume69
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

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