Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III
Division of Aurora
District of Baler
Aurora National Science High School
Brgy. Buhangin, Baler, Aurora

Santol (Sanduricum koetjape) Leaves and Dalanghita (Citrus reticulata) Peels as Ant
Spray

A Research Study Presented by:

Vince Stefano P. Ochoa
Charisma Amor H. Anastacio
Maria Angelica G. Simeon
10-Thomson
S.Y. 2019-2020

Lorie S. Percha
Research Adviser
INTRODUCTION
 Ants can be found everywhere. They are attracted to sweets, even a bit of

cooked rice, a trail of ants will follow. In agricultural concern, ants damages the

harvest of farmers by eating and collecting it back to their home (ant hill). In addition,

ants also bite animals and human. This is why, every now and then, people consider

ants as pest.

With these problems, some people are being more practical in terms of killing

or repelling the ants. Some are using lemons and baking soda as remedies for killing

and repelling ants at house and others are using commercial insect killers to vanish

these pests.

According to Stuart (2019, updated), the santol leaves have ethyl acetate that

can kill insects such as ants. Meanwhile, based on Vihar (2006), fruits from the Citrus

family such as dalanghita has limonoids having insect antifeedant properties.

In Aurora province, santol trees and dalanghita trees are abundant. These trees

commonly seen in backyards and farm fields. People usually eat the fruit of santol and

dalanghita with salt. Santol leaves are not edible so people think that they do not have

any use at all and dried leaves are just falling down causing them to be a trash. Also,

dalanghita peels are just easily thrown in the garbage after taking the edible part of the

fruit considering them as trash.

With regards to this matter, the researches thought of making an alternative

ant spray from santol leaves and dalanghita peels. Aside from these raw materials are

organic and do not have toxic chemicals, it will also lessen some trash in the

environment.

Statement of the Problem

 The study aims to determine the effectiveness of santol leaves and dalanghita

peels as an alternative ant spray.

This study aims to answer the following questions;

1. Which of the following set up will be the most effective ant spray:

a. 60ml santol leaves and 140g dalanghita peels;

b. 100ml santol leaves and 100g dalanghita peels ;

c. 140ml santol leaves and 60g dalanghita peels;

2. How many ants will get repelled/killed with the ant spray?

3. Is there a significant difference on the killing or repelling ants using the

alternative ant spray and the commercial ant spray?

Significance of the Study

This study aims to benefit the following groups:

Vendors- because ants multiply fast, it can pose a serious problem if they get

into food supplies. Having an organic ant spray, it can be a huge help for them.

Farmers- farmers’ crops are their business, if it gets infested by pests, it can

cause a backlash to the economy. Even though ants are not the main pests that infest

crops, ants protect the sap-sucking pest from their predator, causing the sap-sucking

pests to multiply. In return, ants farm the sweet residue that the pests excreted. The

ant killer will kill the ants and also not affect the crops in the process.

Local residence- Ants breed at a high rate, leading to large colonies. This can

result to nesting and damaging, structures, properties, equipment and appliances. And

because ants tend to get in the food supplies, especially sweets, and bite people when

threatened, local residence get annoyed and frustrated. Considering that other ant
killers have toxic chemicals that can greatly affect kids, people are searching for a

more organic alternative, thus, the researchers making the ant killer.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The main purpose of this research is to make an organic ant spray for people

that are affected with ants as pest. The product consists of extracted santol leaves that

have ethyl acetate, which has insecticidal properties and dalanghita peels having

limonoids which is also insecticidal. The product will have three different set up

having three different proportions; 100ml od santol leaves and 100g of dalanghita

peels, 60ml of santol leaves and 140g of dalanghita peels, 140ml of santol leaves and

60g dalanghita peels. The subject to be used are the fire ants which will be

acclimatized for 3 days with enough ventilation to prevent stressing the ants. The raw

materials that will be used will be from Purok 6, Brgy. Diteki San Luis, Aurora. The

setting where the research will be conducted is at Purok 6, Brgy. Diteki San Luis,

Aurora. The research will be conducted from July 2019 to September 2019.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Ants

According to Briano, et.al.

(2011) the ant genus Solenopsis

Westwood (Hymenoptera:

Formicidae: Myrmicinae) is

represented in South America by 16

native species known as “fire ants” [1]. While, in general, these ants cause occasional

local problems in their homeland, two species accidentally introduced into the

southern United States in the early 1900s are considered pests with a high negative

impact in rural and urban areas [2]. These pest species are the red imported fire ant,

Solenopsis invicta Buren, and the black imported fire ant, S. richteri Forel, both

included in a revision of the S. saevissima complex [3]. During the last decade, S.

invicta has been considered one of the 100 worst invasive exotic species [4]; this fire

ant became a more global problem when it invaded ecosystems in the Caribbean

Islands [5], Australia [6], New Zealand [7], Hong Kong, Taiwan [8], and mainland

China [9]. Its eradication has been accomplished only in New Zealand [10]. In the

United States, the imported fire ants cause many problems in the southeast and in

some patches in California. They are a major public health concern because of their

aggressive stinging behavior [11]. Although, for most individuals, this is just an

irritating nuisance, for several hundred thousand people in the United States, sensitive

to fire ants or highly allergic, the sting might cause severe reactions and eventually

death [12]. Fire ants also injure domestic animals, livestock, affect wildlife [13, 14],

native ants, and other arthropods [15, 16]. Structures, electrical devices, and

agricultural crops can also be damaged [17, 18]. In disturbed North American
environments, imported fire ants are dominant terrestrial arthropods [19]. Solenopsis

invicta has displaced Neartic species of fire ants in the United States and adversely

affected the diversity of the ant assemblages [15, 16]; however, the nature of the

impact on native ant species has been controversial [20]. Some beneficial effects of

fire ants such as predation on several agricultural and livestock pests have been also

reported [20, 21]. In the United States, chlorine insecticides were used to control fire

ants in the 1950s and 1960s, but they brought negative consequences to the

environment [21]. A new bait with the insecticide mirex was believed to make fire ant

eradication possible. However, in 1971, its use was highly restricted because of many

environmental concerns and 2 Psyche mirex registration was cancelled in 1977 [11,

21]. Since the 1980s, more environmentally friendly products have been used in the

United States [11] and in other invaded countries. Still, the chemical approach is

expensive, only provides temporary control, is detrimental to several nontarget

organisms, and is not appropriate for large and/or sensitive environments.

Consequently, the need of implementing control methods with less negative

environmental impacts became a priority. The first serious interest in biological

control of fire ants was shown by the United States in the late 1960s. Scientists from

the University of Florida and the ARS-Insects Affecting Man and Animals Research

Laboratory (IAMARL, now the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary

Entomology, CMAVE), both in Gainesville, FL, conducted the first surveys for

natural enemies in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina and provided information on

several potential candidates [22–24]. In late 1987, after three years of cooperative

work with Brazilian researchers in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil,

scientists from the IAMARL formally established the fire ant biological control

program at the ARSSouth American Biological Control Laboratory (SABCL) in

Hurlingham, Buenos Aires province, Argentina [25]. Since then, the main objective of

the program has been to find a complex of natural enemies of fire ants in their

homeland, evaluate their specificity, and determine their suitability for eventual use in

the United States against the red and black imported fire ants. In this paper, we review

the fire ant research conducted by SABCL researchers in southern South America

since 1987. Several studies carried on in the United States by CMAVE scientists in

collaboration with SABCL researchers are also included. We cover not only the

occurrence of fire ant natural enemies and aspects of their biology and ecology, but

also ecological studies on other South American fire ants.

According to National Pest Management Association (2018), fire ants are

actively aggressive and deliver a very painful sting. These tiny red ants are

astonishingly adaptable and live in a wide variety of areas and environmental

conditions. They are opportunists that take advantage of flood conditions to spread as

they are capable of banding together and floating on floodwaters en masse.

They typically build large mounds that are easy to spot and recognize. If you

suspect you have a fire ant problem, don’t try to deal with it on your own. Call in a

professional. When riled, these ants may swarm and attack delivering hundreds of

stings. This can be fatal to humans and even to large animals.

Santol leaves

Santol is a tree growing up to

20 meters high, with softly hairy

young branches and leaves. Leaves

are groups of 3 leaflets, elliptic to oblong-ovate, 10 to 25 centimeter long, with

pointed tips and round bases. Flowers are numerous, somewhat fascicled, about 1

centimeter long, in greenish or yellowish clusters. Fruits are rounded and somewhat

flattened, 4 to 6 centimeters, yellowish-orange when ripe with a thick pericarp. Seeds

are large, surrounded by a translucent or pale, sweet tasting edible pulp.

Study on leaves have yielded trijugin-type limonoids, sandrapins A, B, C, D

and E and sandoripin A and B. Ethyl acetate extract of leaves yielded two new

limonoids: 2α-(2-methylbutanoyl)oxy]sandoricin (1) and 2α-(2-

methylpropanoyl)oxy]sandoricin (2). (18). Ethyl acetate extract of leaves yielded two

new limonoids identified as acetate derivatives 1 and 2, suggested to be added to the

class of highly oxidized ring fissioned limonoids. (26). Santol leaves used as insect

repellent. Although the research product was not quick in killing termites. It was as

good as the commercial product in repelling them. It also showed to be

environmentally friendly, organic, lacking unpleasant odors and containing no

dangerous chemicals.

http://www.stuartxchange.org/Santol GODOFREDO STUART

THE FEASIBILITY OF SANTOL SEED (Sandoricum koetjape) as a Insect Repellent

It is then concluded that santol seeds can be used as an insect repellent. But compared,

to the commercial spray, it is less effective. The commercial spray contains chemicals

which kills different types of insects while the organic repellent doesn’t have a 100%

chance of killing different types of insects since it is only subjected to ants. Getting

rid of the destructive ants in an eco-friendly way is through the use of the organic

repellent
Topic

General Topic

The topic of the study is all about the organic insect repellent. In this generation,

agriculture has been devastated due to the invasion of pests just like ants. Commercial

products used to lessen ants are harmful because sometimes they are misused by

people due to misunderstanding of instructions presented. As such, there are many

ways that pesticides can be harmful. Although pesticides are usually used to kill a

particular target pest, many might also kill or harm species that the farmer or other

user is not targeting. For example, pesticides applied to crops might be washed into

streams or lakes and harm fish, beneficial insects, birds, or even find their way into

drinking water sources. Commercial products are also harmful since it contains

harmful chemicals. Because of this, the proponents thought of producing a more

organic and eco-friendly pesticide out of Santol Fruit. In this study it may prove that

Santol seed is capable as an alternative.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

CONCLUSION

The topic involves on extracting the santol seeds and mixing it with baking soda and

oil. Santol seeds contain insecticidal properties which are very helpful in creating an

insect repellent. Limonoids were the phytochemicals responsible for the insecticidal

activity in santol seeds. These phytochemicals also have a lot of benefits. Organic

Repellents may not as effective as commercial products but it can assure you that it

has no effects on nature and the organisms. Commercial products contains harmful

chemicals that contributes sickness to other organisms. This will also help in the

health of people since the product made doesn’t make use of chemicals which may
harm or trigger our systems. The product of the study will be more beneficial than

commercial ones. Most importantly, it will be able to lessen the damage which are

brought about by ants to agriculture or food supply.

DOCUMENTATION

Ants treated with the organic repellent died within 30 seconds while ants treated with

the commercial spray died within 15 seconds. The ants sprayed with the commercial

one died faster than the ants sprayed with the organic repellent. A t-test was also

performed to compare which is more effective, whether it is the commercial spray or

the organic repellent. A paired sample t test was performed to determine the

difference between the two Set ups. It was proven that there was no significant or

large difference between the two since the time it took for both the repellents to kill

the ants was only seconds. The gap between the time was only seconds.

Strinnie Kaylif Turco

Updated 9 September 2014

https://prezi.com/8itwrfwyqjd3/the-feasibility-of-santol-seed-sandoricum-koetjape-as-

a-in/

Dalanghita peels

Dalanghita is a small tree. Leaves are

smooth, oblong to broadly lanceolate, 4 to 10

centimeters long, with narrowly winged short petioles of about 1 centimeter long.

Flowers are white, short-pedicelled and mostly solitary.. Fruits are hesperidums, with

a loose skin and leathery pericarp, with a sweet pulp that is only fairly juicy. Green

fruit turns to yellow, greenish yellow or orange. Of many varieties, the large ones

attain a size of about 10 centimeters in diameter and about 9 centimeters thick. Pulp is

sweet and only fairly juicy.

Rind: Volatile oil, 14-19.33%-limonene, 92% and methylanthranillic acid,

methyl ester. Volatile oil of fruit peels yielded mainly monoterpenes (99.1%)

constituting l-limonene (92.4%), g-terpene (2.6%), and ß-phellandrene (1.8%).

Peel extracts yielded reducing sugars, terpenoids, alkaloids, cardiac

glycosides, flavonoids, and tannins. (12)

Preliminary phytochemical screening of methanolic extracts of C. reticulata

peel yielded carbohydrates, amino acids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, and phenolic

derivatives. (16)

Study of leaf and fruit peel of Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Santra for essential

oils by GLC and GLC/MS analysis yielded 131 components. Leaf oil yielded 109

compounds with sabinene (23.10%) and linalool (21.20%) as major components. Fruit

peel yielded 64 components with limonene (79.64%) as most abundant. (see study

below) (17)

Ethanolic peel extract yielded maltol, 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-

4h-pyran-4-one, glycerol, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 2-methoxy-4vinylphenol, 3-[n'-

(3h-indol-3-ylmethylene)- hydrazino]-5-methyl-[1,2,4]triazol-4- ylamine,

nitroisobutylglycerol, 1,6-anhydro-.beta.-d-glucopyranose, 3,3',4',5,5',7,8-

heptamethoxyflavone, butylphosphonic acid, pentyl 4-(2- phenylprop-2-yl)phenyl

ester, 4h-1-benzopyran-4-one, 2-(3,4- dimethoxyphenyl)-5,6,7-trimethoxy. (18)

Mosquito Repellency / Essential Oil / Rinds / Aedes aegypti: Results suggest

essential oil from Citrus nobilis rinds could be a component of mosquito repellent

products, and present an alternative to DEET and Picaridin. (11) Study evaluated the

mosquito repellent activity of phytochemical extracts from peels of five citrus species,

including C. reticulata. Results suggest active ingredients confused the olfactory

receptors of the mosquito. Study showed good promise for topical repellence against

mosquitoes.

Leaf and Peel Essential Oil: Study of leaf and fruit peel of C. reticulta cv

Santra yielded 131 components. Study evaluated the reuse and recycling of Egyptian

santra mandarin leaves and fruit peel as common waste products. Results suggest

suggest the use of the the waste products for the production of more valuable pure

compounds such as limonene, sabinene, and linalool.

Updated April 2017, Godofredo U. Stuart Jr., M.D.

http://www.stuartxchange.org/Dalanghita.html

Process

Commercial ant repellents and ant killers

contain dangerous chemicals as their active

ingredients. Even though these chemicals usually make up only a small percentage of

the formula; and even though they are properly applied in a sparing manner, the fact is

continued use of these products causes a buildup of toxins in and around your home.

In the long term, this buildup can be detrimental to air, soil and water in your

immediate environment and in the environment at large. Children and pets are

especially at risk for complications and illnesses caused by contact with pesticides

because they tend to be close to the ground. They are more likely to come in casual

contact with or even to ingest these poisonous substances. Additionally, because

children are still developing, exposure to these poisons can be extremely detrimental

and can interfere with proper growth and development.

Availability and purpose should guide you in choosing a carrier. If you only

have water at the moment, that’s what you should use. If you choose water, you may

want to add a tablespoonful of dish soap to act as a surfactant to help the spray

distribute evenly over surfaces. This will also add killing power.

White vinegar or isopropyl alcohol will both kill ants on contact, so you can

kill ants when you see them and leave a scent that will deter any newcomers. As an

added bonus, using vinegar or isopropyl alcohol gives your spray some cleaning and

shining abilities, so you can use it as a countertop spray that will both shine surfaces

and repel ants. If you want the power of vinegar but don’t like the smell, you can

dilute it with water. Understand that this will also diminish its effectiveness.

https://plantcaretoday.com/homemade-ant-repellent-spray.html Gary Antosh

2012
 METHODOLOGY

Conceptual Framework

Santol Leaves and Dalanghita Peels as an Ant Spray

Process

Santol leaves Dalanghita peels

Extraction by boiling Drying

Combining

Make different proportions of raw materials

SET A SET B SET C

140ml santol 100ml santol 60ml santol

leaves leaves leaves
60g dalanghita 100g dalanghita 140g dalanghita
peels; peels; peels

Replication

ACTUAL EXPERIMENTATION

Gathering of all data

 The conceptual framework provides the process where the researchers used

the ingredients involved such as santol leaves and dalanghita peels. In the production

of the product, the researchers combined all the ingredients involved in the study and

made three setups. For setup A, 100 ml santol leaves and 100g dalanghita peels. For

Set B, 60 ml santol leaves and 140g dalanghita peels. In setup C, 140ml santol leaves

and 60g dalanghita peels. The Actual experimentation involve 3 different set of fire

ants to test the effectiveness of each setup.

Procedure

I. Gathering of raw materials

1. Extraction of santol leaves

The researchers will extract santol leaves by boiling fresh santol leaves

for the base of the ant spray

2. Oil extraction of Dalanghita peels

The oil from Dalanghita peels will be extracted through cold pressing.

3. Collection of Fire ants

The researchers will bait some ants with sugar and collect them.

II. Preparation of testing

1. The researchers will prepare 3 spray bottles for every set-up of

extracted santol leaves and dalanghita peels.

2. The ants that are acclimatized will be contained in 9 different

containers for replication of treatments

Preparation of treatments

A. Treatment 1, contains 140mL extracted santol leaves mixed with

60g powdered dalanghita peels.

 1. Treatment 1a will treat 10-15 fire ants

2. Treatment 1b will treat 16-20 fire ants

3. Treatment 1c will treat 21-25 fire ants

B. Treatment 2 contains 100mL extracted santol leaves mixed with

100g powdered dalanghita peels.

1. Treatment 2a will treat 10-15 fire ants

2. Treatment 2b will treat 16-20 fire ants

3. Treatment 2c will treat 21-25 fire ants

C. Treatment 3 contains 60mL extracted santol leaves mixed with

140g powdered dalanghita peels.

1. Treatment 3a will treat 10-15 fire ants

2. Treatment 3b will treat 16-20 fire ants

3. Treatment 3c will treat 21-25 fire ants

III. Actual Experimentation

A. Spray on the 3 set of ants using treatment 1, which contains 140ml of

santol leaves and 60g of dalanghita peels. observe for results of the

spray to the ants.

B. Spray on the 3 set of ants using treatment 2, which contains 100ml of

santol leaves and 100g of dalanghita peels. observe for results of the

spray to the ants.

C. Spray on the 3 set of ants using treatment 3, which contains 60ml of

santol leaves and 140g of dalanghita peels. observe for results of the

spray to the ants.

D. Gather all the data

REFERENCES

Briano J, Calcaterra L, and Varone L (2011)

https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/pubag/downloadPDF.xhtml?id=57655&content=PDF

National Pest Management Association (2018)

https://pestworldforkids.org/pest-guide/ants/