Extraction and identification of terrestrial snail pheromones using liquid-liquid extraction technique followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Pheromones are the secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual. Terrestrial snails are one of the major pests that cause significant damage to crops. These snails use volatile pheromones to communicate with each other, thereby exchanging various messages between members of their species. Pheromones are able to stimulate message recipients outside the body that produces the message and influence their behavior. Herein, the volatile pheromones that play a major role in the communication between snails of a particular species were investigated. To this end, the pheromones were extracted using liquid phase extraction technique and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry instrument (GC-MS). First, a specific species of the snails were selected, the samples were collected and the pheromones were evaluated. Finally, by comparing the obtained peaks with the reference peaks related to pheromones, the pheromones were identified. The extraction was performed using LLE. The identification was also performed using GC-MS. The results indicated that 2-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-2-methoxy-N,N-dimethylethanamine, 3,4-Octadiene, 7-methyl-, 2-Pentadecanone- 6,10,14-trimethyl، 4-Hexadecen-6-yne, (E)-، Dimethyl aminomethyl (triethyl) stannane, desmosterol, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester, 3,4-Octadiene, 7- methyl- and 4-Methyl-2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde are the responsible pheromones. The present study is an experimental study in which the volatile pheromones that play a role in the communication between snails of a particular species were investigated. As a result, the identified pheromones can be used to make pheromone traps.