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The dried twigs of Piper ribesioides were used to prepare various extracts in different solvents. Each extract was evaluated for their toxicity against 2nd instar larvae of Spodoptera exigua. The highest acute toxicity was observed for ethyl acetate extract with an LD50 of 3.25 and 2.50 μg/larva and LD90 of 9.19 and 8.15 μg/larva after 24 and 48 h post-treatment after topical application. Piperine, methyl piperate, N-cinnamoyl-(2-phenylethyl) amine, pinostrobin, pinocembrin, cinnamic acid, lemairamin, N,N-Diphenylcinnamide, and methyl cinnamate were isolated from this extract that was toxic to S. exigua larvae. Cinnamic acid was the most active compound with a LD50 of 0.17 μg/larva after 48 h of topical treatment. Piperine was significantly similar in activity (LD50 = 0.19 μg/larva), but toxicity decreased with the change in structural configuration as observed with methyl piperate (LD50 = 0.73 μg/larva). Other compounds were 3 to 11-fold less toxic than cinnamic acid and piperine. Growth of survived S. exigua larvae until adult emergence after topical application was recorded and maximum inhibition of about 70% was observed after the application of cinnamic acid. Egg hatch was only 29.11% after cinnamic acid treatment, compared to 97.38% in controls. Neither induction nor inhibition of detoxification enzymes due to treatment of extracts were statistically significant, however, individual compounds like cinnamic acid, methyl cinnamate, piperine, pinostrobin, pinocembrin, and lemairamin did show a moderate impact on these enzymes.

Background Thymol is a known natural product with insecticidal activity against several insect species. A recent study on structural modifications of thymol to thymyl esters and their efficacy against Spodoptera litura suggested that such an approach could develop generalized novel insecticides/insect growth inhibitors and requires further studies to establish the efficacy against lepidopterans. Results Thymol and structurally modified eight esters were evaluated against beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua using the topical application. Thymyl butanoate was the most toxic compound with a median lethal dose (LD50 ) of 2.33 and 1.62 μg/larva after 24 and 48 h posttreatment, respectively. All thymyl esters were potentially better than the parent compound thymol, except thymyl dibromoacetate, in their efficacy against Spodoptera exigua. Essentially, there were three levels of activity vis-a-vis the compounds used, that is, with the LD50 range of 1.5 to 5.0, 7.0 to 15.0, and > 20 μg/larva, respectively. Ovicidal activity and reduction in larval growth were also determined by treating third instars at sub-lethal doses, that is, LD50 doses of second instars. Thymyl butanoate treated larvae inhibited glutathione S-transferase, carboxylesterase, and acetylcholinesterase activities, whereas the other thymyl esters induced these enzymes. Conclusion Thymyl butanoate exhibited higher toxicity against Spodoptera exigua and is the first to report about > 15.5× more toxicity than thymol and > 6.5× than thymyl cinnamate, which suggests that the efficacy was species-specific versus the chemical structural variation of the esters.

Background Dengue is a major problem for humanity. Most people use insecticides to eliminate larvae of Aedes aegypti, which requires heavy chemicals use that affects the environment and human health. Therefore, in this research, the focus was on the larvicidal efficacy of pure compounds from the leaves and twigs of Maerua siamensis against the larvae of A. aegypti. Results Larval mortality was observed after a 24-h exposure. The 1H-indole-3 acetonitrile glycosides cappariloside A and cappariloside B and the triterpene lupeol showed strong larvicidal effects (24-h LC50 = 71.14, 99.79 and 133.03 ppm). After 48 h, cappariloside B caused the most potential mortality with an LC50 of 1.56 ppm and lupeol had the highest lethal concentration at LC50 = 158.71 ppm. Additionally, consistency was observed between the toxicity tests and detoxification enzyme activity. Most compounds, except for lupeol and vanillin, reduce the activity of glutathione-s-transferase, whereas no significant differences were between control and treated groups for carboxylesterase. Conclusions Cappariloside A and cappariloside B are good potential larvicide agents. They showed larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti larvae with LC50 = 71.14 and 99.79 ppm at 24 and 48 h, respectively.

BACKGROUND Thymol, a natural phenolic monoterpene originating from Thymus vulgaris, is recognized as a safe and potent botanical insecticide to many insects. The structural modification of thymol into thymyl esters is a potential approach for the development of novel insecticides, which showed more toxicity than thymol. However, there are no reports on the insecticidal activity of thymyl esters to control Spodoptera litura. RESULTS Thymol was structurally modified into ten thymyl esters by esterification using a new reagent, PPh3 /Br3 CSO2 Ph. The insecticidal activity of these compounds was examined against the second instars of Spodoptera litura using a topical application. Among the ten thymyl esters evaluated, thymyl cinnamate was the most toxic with LD50 = 0.41 and 0.34 μg/larva after 24 and 48 h posttreatment, respectively. In addition, thymyl cinnamate-treated larvae showed increasing carboxylesterase and acetylcholinesterase activities in vivo experiment, whereas glutathione S-transferase activity showed no significant difference. CONCLUSION Thymyl cinnamate were first reported to exhibit toxicity against S. litura 2.41-2.46 fold more efficient than thymol. However, the detailed biochemical interactions are necessary for further development of novel insecticides. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Essential oils are by-products of plant metabolism that are now known to interfere with basic metabolic, physiological and behavioral functions of insects, thereby having promise for use as pest control agents. Accordingly, four essential oil compounds, thymol, 1,8-cineole, linalool and pulegone, were evaluated against the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), to determine their acute toxicity. Thymol and 1,8-cineole were highly toxic to third instars with a LD50 of 0.22 and 0.41 μg/larva, respectively. Linalool and pulegone were moderately active against this insect species, exhibiting

We explored the potential of Burma rosewood, Dalbergia oliveri in dengue fever vector control by evaluating various extracts as larvicides and growth disruptors of Aedes aegypti Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae) under laboratory conditions. Third instars and pupae of the mosquito were tested using WHO guidelines. Highest larvicidal effect was obtained with dichloromethane and hexane extracts (LC 50 = 289.1 and 325.3 ppm, respectively) within 24 h post-treatment. However, toxicity was about 1.78-fold more in dichloromethane extracts than hexane extract, if treatment was given for longer duration of 48 h (LC 90 = 5048.5 ppm for hexane and 2848.1 ppm for dichloromethane extracts, respectively). In these treatments moderate inhibition of pupation was also seen with some larvae staying as 4th stage larvae for 8 days before dying. There were no significant differences in the sex ratio of emerged adults compared with the controls. Dichloromethane extract, being most active, was subjected to sequential chemical separation to obtain series of isoflavonoids. Three compounds (+)-medicarpin, formononetin and (±)-violanone were identified as active larvicides of Ae. aegypti . Significant pupal mortality was observed with dichloromethane extract treatment of 1–3 h old pupae after 48 h post-treatment (LC 50 = 1004.5 ppm). Isoflavonoid medicarpin (LC 50 = 296.72 ppm) was most active compound against pupae. Eclosion inhibition (EI) was also observed in pupae treated with dichloromethane extract (EI 50 of 668.7 ppm). Thus, naturally occurring larvicides can be particularly effective where larval habitats are readily identifiable. Results obtained should be of value in the search for new natural larvicidal compounds from other extracts as well and represent the first report of this plant species being used to control a mosquito vector.