The Toxicity of Some Organic Compounds to Young Screwworms

Abstract

551 organic compounds are listed according to minimum lethal concentration and relative toxicity with regard to phenothiazine and rotenone, detd. in laboratory expts. Of these compounds 284 showed little or no toxicity at a conc. of 0.67%, 190 killed all larvae at 0.17-0.67%, and 77 compounds, considered to be of outstanding toxicity, were lethal at 0.1% or less. Of these highly toxic compounds 10 were less toxic than rotenone, 25 were equal in toxicity to rotenone (m. 1. cone. 0.05-0.08%), 31 were equal in toxicity to phenothiazine (m. 1. conc. 0.03-0.05%), and 11 were more toxic than phenothiazine (m. 1. conc. 0.03% or less). The compounds that exceeded phenothiazine in toxicity were cinchonine, m-dinitrobenzene, 2,6-dinitro-4-chlorophenol, 3,5-dinitro-o-cresol, 2,4-dinitro-6-cyclohexylphenol, methylphenylnitrosoamine, o-nitroanisole, p-nitroanisole, p-nitrobenzonitrile, p-nitrophenetole, and p-nitrophenylacetonitrile. Although these studies have revealed no basis from which the toxicity of a prospective larvicide can be predicted, some groups show more promise than do others. E.g., of 158 nitro compounds 36 were outstandingly toxic, while of 51 compounds containing a primary amino group only 1 showed outstanding toxicity. Of the compounds comprising quinoline and 16 of its derivatives all were toxic, 12 outstandingly so.