Trifluoromethyl ketones as inhibitors of the processionary moth sex pheromone.

Aliphatic and aromatic trifluoromethyl ketones have been evaluated in the laboratory and in the field as inhibitors of the pheromone response of the processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa males. Among them, two compounds, (Z)-1,1,1-trifluoro-15-octadecen-13-yn-2-one and (Z)-1,1,1-trifluoro-16-nonadecen-14-yn-2-one, are closely related analogs of the natural pheromone (Z)-13-hexadecen-11-ynyl acetate. In the laboratory experiments, carried out by pre-exposure of males to vapors of the chemicals, alpha-naphthyl trifluoromethyl ketone, beta-naphthyl trifluoromethyl ketone, 1,1,1-trifluorotetradecan-2-one and (Z)-16-nonadecen-14-yn-2-one displayed notable blockage of the pheromone detection on EAG. The activity of 1,1,1-trifluorotetradecan-2-one is postulated to be due to the inhibition of the pheromone-degrading esterase. In general, the compounds have shown low specificity for the substrate and exhibited only a modest or null EAG intrinsic activity. In the field, benzyl trifluoromethyl ketone, trifluoroacetophenone, (Z)-1,1,1-trifluoro-15-octadecen-13-yn-2-one, (Z)-1,1,1-trifluoro-16-nonadecen-14-yn-2-one and beta-naphthyl trifluoroacetate showed a remarkable disruptant effect when mixed with the pheromone in 1:0.1, 1:1 and 1:10 ratio. (Z)-16-Nonadecen-14-yn-2-one has been found to be a modest agonist of the natural pheromone, exhibiting an attractant activity threefold lower than the parent molecule.