ACARICIDAL ACTIVITY OF CURCUMA LONGA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Curcuma longa L. is a plant of the Zingiberaceae family, popularly known as turmeric or golden ginger. Due to the fact that its rhizomes are rich in phytochemical compounds, this plant has several biological activities described, among them the activity against mites. Ectoparasites cause damage and losses in livestock, compromising the well-being of animals and reducing production. In addition, in agriculture, mites affect crops, suck essential nutrients from plants, and result in significant economic losses. In this context, the objective of this study was to analyze the scientific production on the acaricidal activity of C. longa, with a systematic review with a comprehensive search in the databases and using the PICO strategy to answer the research question: "Does Curcuma longa have acaricidal activity?". A total of 58 articles were identified, of which at the end of the screening stages, 10 were analyzed regarding the type of study, preparation of C. longa, species and its stage of development, activity, efficacy and aspects such as repellency, mortality, oviposition inhibition and in vivo studies. The analysis showed that C. longa can result in several preparations such as extracts and oils and these showed effectiveness in the control of mites, placing the plant as a potential sustainable alternative against mites and the growing resistance to synthetic acaricides. Therefore, the use of this vegetable may represent a complementary strategy to the commercially available arsenal.