Prolonged storage of harvested Tasmanian pyrethrum crop from Tanacetum cinerariaefolium has resulted in substantial losses of the pyrethrin esters due to the environmental conditions in the storage shed. The generation of heat, the presence of moisture and oxygen, and the microbial activity were identified as possible causes. A pyrethrum crop sample was divided up and stored in different conditions relating to these variables, and the pyrethrins content was monitored over time using a standard method. Temperature was determined to be a critical factor in the rate of the degradation of the natural pyrethrins. Moisture, oxygen, and microbial activity unexpectedly did not play a major role in the degradation. An initial rapid loss of the natural pyrethrins was observed before the pyrethrins content stabilized at a loss of around 65%. This suggests that the plant structure may provide chemical or physical protection to the pyrethrins. In all cases, the majority of the loss was attributed to the pyrethrin I and pyrethrin II esters.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Chemical Sciences
Research Group:	Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry
Research Field:	Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Environmentally sustainable plant production
Objective Field:	Environmentally sustainable plant production not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Atkinson, BL (Ms Bonnie Atkinson)
UTAS Author:	Blackman, AJ (Dr Adrian Blackman)
ID Code:	31999
Year Published:	2004
Web of Science® Times Cited:	29
Deposited By:	Chemistry
Deposited On:	2004-08-01
Last Modified:	2005-05-30
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