Pab ms-160221

Pure Appl. Biol.
http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2017.60048
Published by Bolan Society for Pure and Applied Biology
Research Article
Susceptibility of some stored local spices
against the cigarette beetle Lasioderma
serricorne. (Coleoptera: Anobiidae)
Zoya Memon*, Nasreen Memon, Mansoor Ali Shah, Nabeela Kouser,
Nadir Ali Shah and Attaullah Ansari
Department of Zoology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh-Pakistan
*Corresponding author’s email: zoya_saleh@yahoo.com
Citation
Zoya Memon, Nasreen Memon, Mansoor Ali Shah, Nabeela Kouser, Nadir Ali Shah and Attaullah Ansari.
Susceptibility of some stored local spices against the cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne. (Coleoptera:
Anobiidae). Pure and Applied Biology. http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2017.60048
Received: 07/12/2016 Revised: 22/03/2017 Accepted: 25/03/2017 Online First: 28/03/2017
Abstract
Spices are non-leafy dried parts derived from different parts of plants such as bud, fruit, seed,
bark, rhizome, bulb used for flavoring and coloring the food. It is attacked by many stored grain
pests. Lasioderma Serricorne (Cigarette beetle) as one of the most important destructive pest
causes severe economic losses in quantity and nutritional quality. The present work is on the
susceptibility of four spices (Caraway, Coriander, Red chili powder and Dandicut/lounge chili).
The study was conducted under room conditions at 27-30˚Cand 60-70% R.H in September and
October while 22-25 ˚C, 50-55% RH in November and December. Ten pairs of newly emerged
adults were released in plastic jars, having 40gm of each of four spices. The jars were covered
with muslin cloth. The weight of all spices was checked after the interval of fifteen days to
observe the intensity of damage by Lasioderma serricorne. The experiment was conducted for a
period of four months (September, October, November and December 2015). It was observed
that after four months (September to December 2015) 32 gm of caraway and 26 gm of Coriander
were consumed by Cigarette beetle followed by 24 gm of Red chili powder. The lowest weight
loss was recorded in Dandicut/Lounge chili that was only 8 gm. The result indicates that the
most susceptible spices were exhibited more attracted odor and color than others. The
multiplication of pest can be limited by decreasing the level of oxygen.
Keywords: Susceptibility; Cigarette beetle; Spices
Introduction
Spices are non-leafy dried parts derived
from different parts of plants such as bud
fruit, seed, bark, rhizome, bulb used for
flavoring and coloring the food [1, 2].
Spices can be obtained easily in Fresh form
as well as Whole or ground dried form.
Usually they are dried. Fresh spices have
more flavor than dried forms but they are
more expensive and have shortest shelf life.
The spices more ground or dried they
become more flavorless and prolong shelf
life. Spices fulfil the requirements of
calories, micronutrients, protein,
carbohydrate and fat in the diet [3, 4]. The
majority of countries that produces large
amount of spices falls in continent Asia
because of that Asia is also called “The

Memon et al.
Land of Spices”. India is the largest
producer of at least 60 varieties of spices
and is considered as “Home of Spices” [5].
Global spice production was 2,063,472 in
2011. India contributes 75% of global spice
production. World major producers of spices
include India (1,525,000 MT), Bangladesh
(139,775 MT), Turkey (113,783 MT), China
(95,890 MT) and Pakistan (53,620 MT) [6].
As spices are natural ingredients that can
help to live a healthy life and used in several
food preparations to give it more taste and
also stimulate appetite. Different spices
involves in digestion, stimulant activity,
anti-inflammatory response etc [7].
Moreover spices are important to be used in
cosmetics, religious rituals and also have
medicinal value. They have antibiotic, anti-
microbial, anti-oxidant and preservative
properties [8]. There is a great global
demand to produce spices in large amount
due to its multiple uses. Spices are attacked
by many insect pests during storage, which
cause consumption, infestation and allow
other microorganisms to decrease the quality
and quantity of spices. The infestation also
effects on its nutritive value as it decreases
the protein, carbohydrate and fat content [9].
Stored spices are highly prominent to attack
by the Cigarette beetle Lasioderma
Serricorne and drug store beetle Stegobium
paniceum. Lasioderma Serricorne attacks on
a huge variety of products in storage such as
cereals, pulses, cocoa beans, cigarettes,
spices and dried fruits [10]. Most of the
damage caused by larval feeding in storage
[11] while adults damage causes holes in
packaged products to penetrate in it [12].
Due to the presence of residual of different
life stages of insects the spices become unfit
for human diet. The infestation is started
when the females of the cigarette beetles
attracted by odor of the stored products and
oviposit eggs in these spices [13]. Therefore,
four main spices Caraway, Coriander, Red
chili powder and Dandicut/lounge chili
were selected for the observation of
infestation as these are not only used almost
in every Pakistani cousine but their odor and
color is very attractant to Cigarette beetle.
Materials and methods
Different spices used for screening
However different spices grow in Pakistan
but we have selected four commonly used
spices in our daily diet and also for other
purposes. These spices were (Caraway,
Coriander, Red chili powder and
Dandicut/lounge chili). The study was
carried out in the Laboratory of Entomology
of Zoology department, University of Sindh
Jamshoro from September to December
2015.
Raising of Lasioderma serricorne culture
Infested spices were obtained from different
godowns of Hyderabad and Karachi. The
insects were separated from infested spices
and brought to the Entomology Laboratory
and identified them as Lasioderma
serricorne on the basis of physical
characters through microscope. The insects
were preserved for raising the culture. The
culture of Lasioderma serricorne was
maintained on a fresh Red chili powder in a
plastic jar at 27-30 ˚C as it is suitable
temperature for the growth of cigarette
beetle and high humidity of 60-70% R.H
with 10 hr light and dark cycle for a number
of generations in the Laboratory. The newly
emerged adults kept preserved for
experimental use.
Procedure
The selected spices (Caraway, Coriander,
Red chili powder and Dandicut/lounge chili
) were subjected to sterilization by keeping
in freezer for one week at -5 ˚C as to kill the
already exist any pest. The experiment for
observing the damage by Lasioderma
serricorne was done in no choice test. In this
test the insects were bound to oviposit and
develop on the same product to which it
releases. Ten pairs of newly emerged adults
were released in glass jars having 40gm of

Pure Appl. Biol.
each of four spices. The jars were covered
with muslin cloth to avoid the escape of
insect. The insects were free there for the
purpose of damage and oviposition till they
died.
All the spices were checked after each
fifteen days to observe the intensity of
infestation and weight loss. The newly
emerged adults were continued for next
generations. The experiment was conducted
for a period of four months (September to
December 2015) after the release of
Lasioderma serricorne. The difference in
damage percentage of each spice was
observed by infestation, weight loss and
physical properties of each spice. All
experiments were conducted under room
temperature of 27-30 ˚C suitable for the
growth of cigarette beetle and high relative
humidity of 60-70% [14] and 22-25 ˚C, 50-
55 R.H checked by a Thermo hygrometer
and a photoperiod of 10 hr. The weight loss
and percent weight loss of each spice was
calculated by the following formula used by
[15].
Weight loss=weight of damage seed – initial weight
The percentage of weight loss was
calculated by this formula:
% weight loss= initial weight – weight of
damage seed / initial weight * 100
Results
In present study i have taken four commonly
used spices of Asian food specially in Indo
Pak Subcontinent and also used for other
purposes such as antimicrobial properties,
medicine, nutrition which are beneficial for
human health and also it used in religious
rituals, cosmetics and as a vegetable. These
four spices were tested against the cigarette
beetle under room conditions from
September to December 2015. The study
was conducted to know the percentage of
damage and to observe the most susceptible
and most tolerant spice against cigarette
beetle. They were Caraway, Coriander, Red
chili powder and Dandicut/Lounge chili,
because these are mostly get infested easily
by Lasioderma serricorne in shops or
kitchen cabinets. Usually the adults of
cigarette beetle are attracted by the odor and
presence of different chemical constituent
and nutritional values of these spices.
Our observation are matched with other
researchers like [16] has reported the
developmental response of L.Serricorne and
S.paniceum on 28 spices and L.serricorne
was found most successful specie found on
17 spices. Caraway was fresh and crescent
shape, coriander seeds were round shape,
Red chili powder and whole was also fresh
but we have observed that after the attack of
cigarette beetle some changes occurred in
the physical properties of spices such as fade
in color, bad odor and spices became sticky.
Female cigarette beetle laid eggs in groups
on the surface of spices Caraway, Coriander,
Red chili powder and Dandicut/Lounge chili
so they become sticky therefore the spices
become bunchy and unusable. Oviposition
depends upon nutrients contained by spices
and their hard or soft surface. We observed
the infestation of cigarette beetle on all four
spices and the percentage of infestation was
variable on all four spices. Here we
discussed all spices one by one.
Infestation of Lasioderma serricorne on
caraway
During present study it was observed that
the cigarette beetle was heavily infesting
Caraway throughout the study period. It was
observed that in the months of September
and October the consumption of Caraway by
cigarette beetle recorded was high 10 and 12
grams (Table 1 and Figure 1). After these
months the consumption rate was slowing
down in the months of November and
December it was recorded 6 and 4 grams
(Table 1 and Figure 1). Total consumption
of Caraway in four months was recorded 32
grams (Table 1 and Figure 1). The mean was
recorded 8. It showed that the Caraway was
most susceptible spice against cigarette
beetle as it was crescent shaped so it had

Memon et al.
large surface area for oviposition and it also
had a very pleasant smell which attracted the
beetle. The consumption rate was affected
by both temperature and relative humidity.
We found the highest consumption in the
months of moderate temperature and high
humidity like September and October while
lowest in low temperature and low humidity
like November and December.
Table 1. The consumption of caraway by cigarette beetle (Sep-Oct 2015) at 27-30˚C, 60-
70% RH (Nov-Dec 2015) at 22-25 ºC, 50-55% RH (Beetles Reared on 40 grams)
Months Total Consumption in grams
September 10
October 12
November 06
December 04
Total Weight Loss 32
Mean 8
Standard Deviation 3.65
Figure 1. The consumption of caraway by cigarette beetle (September-December 2015)
coriander
In present work it was observed the
consumption of cigarette beetle on coriander
was also high during whole study period.
The highest consumption was recorded in
September and October 8 and 9 grams while
in November and December it was
decreasing to 6 and 3 grams (Table 2 and
Figure 2). Total consumption of cigarette
beetle in four months was recorded 26
grams out of 40 grams (Table 2 and Figure
2). Total mean was recorded 6.5 (Table 2
and Figure 2). The results indicated that the
coriander was second most susceptible
spice. It had round shape seeds. The
consumption rate of cigarette beetle on
Coriander was also affected by low and high
temperature and relative humidity.

Pure Appl. Biol.
Table 2. The consumption of coriander by cigarette beetle (Sep-Oct 2015) at 27-30˚C, 60-
70% RH (Nov-Dec 2015) at 22-25 ºC, 50-55% RH (Beetles Reared on 40 grams)
September 08
October 09
November 06
December 03
Mean 6.5
Figure 2. The consumption of coriander by cigarette beetle (September-December 2015)
red chili powder
It was observed that the infestation of
cigarette beetle on Red Chili Powder was
moderate. The highest consumption was
recorded 7 and 8 grams in September and
October while lowest in November and
December 5 and 4 grams (Table 3 and
Figure 3). Total consumption was recorded
throughout study period 24 grams out of 40
grams (Table 3 and Figure 3). Total mean
was recorded 6 (Table 3 and Figure 3). It
showed that the red chili powder was
moderate susceptible spice against cigarette
beetle. Temperature and relative humidity
was also found effecting on the consumption
rate of cigarette beetle on red chili powder.
Table 3. The consumption of red chili powder by cigarette beetle (Sep-Oct 2015) at 27-
30˚C, 60-70% RH (Nov-Dec 2015) at 22-25 ºC, 50-55% RH (Beetles Reared on 40 grams)
September 07
October 08
November 05
December 04
Mean 6

Memon et al.
Figure 3. The consumption of red chili powder by cigarette beetle (September-December
2015)
Dandicut/lounge chili
It was observed that infestation of cigarette
beetle was least on Dandicut/Lounge chili.
The consumption was recorded only 2 grams
in all four months September, October,
November and December (Table 4 and
Figure 4). Total consumption in four months
was recorded only 8 grams out of 40 grams
(Table 4 and Figure 4). Total mean was 2
(Table 4 and Figure 4). The results indicated
that the Dandicut/Lounge chili was least
preferred spice by cigarette beetle.
Table 4. The consumption of Dandicut/Lounge chili by cigarette beetle (Sep-Oct 2015) at 27-30˚C,
60-70% RH (Nov-Dec 2015) at 22-25 ºC, 50-55% RH (Beetles Reared on 40 grams)
September 02
October 02
November 02
December 02
Mean 02
Standard Deviation 00
Figure 4. The consumption of Dandicut/Lounge chili by cigarette beetle (September-
December 2015)

Pure Appl. Biol.
Comparison of total consumption of four
spices by cigarette beetle
We have observed the total consumption of
four spices against cigarette beetle for the
period of four months and found that
Caraway was most consumed spice. Total
consumption of Caraway was recorded 32
grams out of 40 grams and the percentage of
damage was recorded 80 % (Table 5 and
Figure 5). Coriander was second most
consumed spice. It had total consumption of
26 grams and the percentage of damage was
recorded 65 % (Table 5 and Figure 5). Red
Chili Powder was found moderately
consumed 24 grams, the percentage of
damage was recorded 60 % and
Dandicut/Loungi chili was least consumed
only 8 grams and the percentage of damage
was recorded 20 % (Table 5 and Figure 5).
Table 5. The comparison of total weight loss (gm) by Lasioderma serricorne on four spices
from September - December 2015
Figure 5. The comparison of total weight loss (gm) by Lasioderma Serricorne on four spices
from September - December 2015
Discussion
In current study, the experiment to evaluate
the percentage of damage on spices by
cigarette beetle was done from September to
October 2015. Our results showed that
Caraway was the most preferred spice by
cigarette beetle. As it was large in size and
had pleasant smell to attract cigarette beetle
adults. Our results of Caraway susceptibility
disagreed with [17] as he observed
developmental response of different insect
species on eight medicinal plants and he
found Lasioderma serricorne on all tested
plants except Caraway and Fennel. But we
found maximum development and
consumption of Lasioderma serricorne on
Different spice Initial weight
on 01-09-2015
Weight loss (gm) Total weight
loss (gm)
Total weight
loss (%)Sep Oct Nov Dec
Caraway 40 gm 10 gm 12gm 6 gm 4 gm 32 gm 80 %
Coriander 40 gm 8 gm 9 gm 6 gm 3 gm 26 gm 65 %
Red chili powder 40 gm 7 gm 8 gm 5 gm 4 gm 24 gm 60 %
Dandicut/Lounge chili 40 gm 2 gm 2 gm 2 gm 2 gm 8 gm 20 %

Memon et al.
Caraway. It may be due to environmental
changes and also presence of multiple food
and species. But in our study only cigarette
beetle was introduced in four spices and
cigarette beetle highly preferred caraway
among all spices. By our results Coriander
was second most preferred spice by cigarette
beetle and these results are supported by
[18], who also observed that Coriander
seeds are heavily infested by Cigarette
beetle. Red chili powder was moderately
susceptible likewise [19] also had same
findings, reported L. serricorne poorly
survived on Red chili powder. Among all
spices Dandicut /Lounge chili was the least
susceptible spice which is significantly
different in four spices. The growth rate of
cigarette beetle also heavily affected by
nutritional quantity of spice. As Red chili is
poor nutrition and chemically defended
food.
Moderate temperature and high relative
humidity favors to the infestation of spices
by L.serricorne. High growth rate of
cigarette beetle depends upon both
temperature and humidity that effect on the
developmental period of insects [13]. Our
results revealed the maximum consumption
of spices by L.serricorne on moderate
temperature 27- 30˚C and high relative
humidity 60-70 %, while low consumption
was recorded on low temperature 22-25˚C
and low relative humidity 50-55 %. As [14]
have reported that the suitable temperature
and humidity for growth rate of cigratte
beetle is 30˚C and 70 % R.H. In present
work all the four spice are susceptible to
Lasioderma serricorne, because of the
temperate region there are greater chances of
infestation of spices. Among all varieties
because of their shape, size and odor the
highly infested variety was Caraway while
least infested was Dandicut/Lounge chili.
Our results showed that physical parameters
like temperature, humidity and also
nutritional value are the main factors that
effect on infestation ratio.
Conclusions
By present study it was concluded that the
caraway and coriander were the most
preferred spices by cigarette beetle, as their
consumption was recorded 32 and 26 gm
respectively. They have short shelf life. Red
chili powder exhibited moderate
consumption 24 gm while Dandicut/Loungi
chili exhibited least consumption 8 gm.
Later two spices may have long shelf life.
Author’s contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: Z
Memon, N Memon & MA Shah, Performed
the experiments: Z Memon, Analyzed the
data: Z Memon & N Memon, Contributed
reagents/ materials/ analysis tools: N
Kouser, NA Shah & A Ansari, Wrote the
paper: Z Memon & N Memon.
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