Abstract: Four important enzymes including acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione-S-transferase (GSTs), carboxylesterase (CarE) and esterase isoenzyme (EST isoenzyme) in Rhizopertha dominica adults were studied after treated with β-asarone extracted from Acorus gramineus roots and shoots. The results indicated that activities of the four enzymes showed strong time-effect. Activities of AChE and GSTs were inhibited by β-asarone at a dosage of 94.49 mg/kg with the exposure time prolonged. While the activities of CarE and EST isoenzymes were induced by β-asarone at the same dosage. Theβ-asarone at a low dosage (67.5 mg/kg) showed marked induction effect on AChE activity. However, with the dosages of β-asarone increasing, AChE activity was mostly restrained. β-asarone showed induction effect on GST at a low dosage (≤100.0 mg/kg), but showed inhibitory effect at a high dosage (≥133.3 mg/kg). With the dosages of β-asarone increasing, the CarE activity was somewhat promoted.β-asarone induced EST isozyme activity at different dosages, but the induction effect was not significantly correlated with the treated dosages.

Key words: Rhizopertha dominica, Acorus gramineus, β-asarone, acetylcholinesterase, glutathione-S-transferase, carboxylesterase, esterase isoenzyme