Chloroformic, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of dried leaves of Coffea species were assessed for acaricide activity against Dermanyssus gallinae and caffeine content was measured. Strong acaricide activity was observed on chloroformic extracts of C. racemosa (100%), C. canephora (100%), C. salvatrix (82%), C. stenophylla (73%), C. arabica (83%) and ethanolic extract of C. canephora (90%). Others ethanolic extracts showed moderate activity against D. gallinae (45-62%). The aqueous extracts showed weak activity. Higher caffeine content were observed on chloroformic extracts of C. arabica (0.436%), C. canephora (0.246%), C. stenophylla (0.132%), C. liberica (0.127%) and ethanolic extracts of C. arabica (0.131%) e C. canephora (0.077%). Tests with caffeine solutions (0.01 - 1.0%) no demonstrated effective acaricidal activity.
KEY WORDS:
Acaricide; Coffea; caffeine; Dermanyssus gallinae.