Insecticidal activities of Cunninghamia konishii Hayata against Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Antifungal Activity of Cedrol from Cunninghamia lanceolate var. konishii against Phellinus noxius and Its Mechanism

Phellinus noxius is a highly destructive fungus that causes brown root disease in trees, leading to decay and death. In Taiwan, five prized woods-Taiwania cryptomerioides, Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana, Cunninghamia lanceolata var. konishii, Chamaecyparis formosensis, and Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana-are known for their fragrance and durability. This study aims to explore the anti-brown-root-rot-fungus activity of Cunninghamia lanceolata var. konishii (CL) essential oil (CLOL) and its primary components, while also delving into their mechanisms of action and inhibition pathways. The essential oil (CLOL) from CL wood demonstrated significant efficacy against P. noxius, with an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 37.5 µg/mL. Cedrol, the major component (78.48%) in CLOL, emerged as a potent antifungal agent, surpassing the reference drug triflumizole. Further assays with cedrol revealed a stronger anti-brown-root-disease activity (IC50 = 15.7 µg/mL) than triflumizole (IC50 = 32.1 µg/mL). Scanning electron microscopy showed deformation and rupture of fungal hyphae treated with CLOL and cedrol, indicating damage to the fungal cell membrane. Cedrol-induced oxidative stress in P. noxius was evidenced by increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, leading to DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial membrane potential reduction, and fungal apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. Gel electrophoresis confirmed cedrol-induced DNA fragmentation, whereas TUNEL staining demonstrated increased apoptosis with rising cedrol concentrations. Moreover, protein expression analysis revealed cedrol-triggered release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase-9, and subsequent caspase-3 activation, initiating a caspase cascade reaction. This groundbreaking study establishes cedrol as the first compound to induce apoptosis in P. noxius while inhibiting its growth through oxidative stress, an increase in mitochondrial membrane permeability, and activation of the mitochondrial pathway. The findings offer compelling evidence for cedrol's potential as an effective antifungal agent against the destructive brown root disease caused by P. noxius.

Insecticidal activities of the essential oil of Rhynchanthus beesianus rhizomes and its constituents against two species of grain storage insects

The aim of this research was to evaluate insecticidal activities of the essential oil of Rhynchanthus beesianus rhizomes against adults of Liposcelis entomophila and Tribolium castaneum. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses revealed the presence of 44 compounds with β-eudesmol (19.1%), elemol (8.1%), α-terpineol (8.0%), methyl eugenol (6.5%), and caryophyllene (4.8%) being the major constituents. Bioactivity-directed chromatographic separation of the oil led to the isolation of four constituents, elemol, β-eudesmol, methyl eugenol, and α-terpineol. The essential oil exhibited fumigant toxicity against the adults of L. entomophila and T. castaneum with LC₅₀ values of 0.57 and 4.96 mg/L air while the two isolates, methyl eugenol and α-terpineol possessed fumigant toxicity against the booklice (LC₅₀ = 0.15 and 0.48 mg/L air, respectively) and the beetles (LC₅₀ = 1.81 and 4.96 mg/L air, respectively). The oil also possessed contact toxicity against the booklice and the beetles with LD₅₀ values of 121.56 μg/cm² and 54.93 μg/adult, respectively, while the two isolates β-eudesmol and elemol showed contact toxicity against L. entomophila (LD₅₀ = 99.21 and 35.19 μg/cm², respectively) and T. castaneum (LD₅₀ = 35.26 and 8.89 μg/adult, respectively). The results indicate that the oil of R. beesianus rhizomes and its isolates have potential as a source for natural insecticides.

Essential Oils in Urban Insect Management-A Review

The allures of city life have culminated in the rise of urban populations resulting in conditions that promote the establishment of certain insect pests. Globally, the public health significance of these urban insect pests is enormous, ranging from billions of dollars to loss of lives. Most chemical insecticides no longer provide the anticipated level of control, and significant insecticide resistance has been reported. Therefore, there has been a spike in interest for alternatives to conventional insecticides. Among them, natural products from plants such as essential oils (EOs) and essential oil components (EOCs) have enjoyed the most attention owing to widespread reports of efficacy and toxicity even against insecticide-resistant urban insects. Yet, there is no comprehensive synthesis on the extent and impact of the management of urban insects using EOs or EOCs. Such a review is highly relevant since it provides a means to assess the extent of progress made, shortfalls, limitations, and prospects. More so, we hope it can be used to make informed decisions and develop relevant policies reliably. We present the ranges of insecticidal effects of EOs, EOCs, and commercially available EO-based products from laboratory and field studies. Finally, we discuss the gaps in our knowledge and prospects for the sustainable use of EOs.

α-Terpineol, a natural monoterpene: A review of its biological properties

Terpineols are monocyclic monoterpene tertiary alcohols which are naturally present in plant species. There are five common isomers of terpineols, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta- and terpinen-4-ol, of which α-terpineol and its isomer terpinen-4-ol are the most common terpineols found in nature. α-Terpineol plays an important role in the industrial field. It has a pleasant odor similar to lilacs and it is a common ingredient in perfumes, cosmetics, and aromatic scents.

In addition, α-terpineol attracts a great interest as it has a wide range of biological applications as an antioxidant, anticancer, anticonvulsant, antiulcer, antihypertensive, anti-nociceptive compound. It is also used to enhance skin penetration, and also has insecticidal properties. This study reviews the relevance of α-terpineol based on scientific findings on Google Scholar, Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and Chemical Abstracts.

Collectively, the use of α-terpineol in medicine and in the pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in therapeutic applications. This review will, therefore, support future research in the utilization of α-terpineol.

Volatile Metabolomic Composition of Vitex Species: Chemodiversity Insights and Acaricidal Activity

The Vitex genus (Lamiaceae) produces a plethora of metabolites that include ecdysteroids and terpenoids, some of which have demonstrated insect repellent properties. The volatile composition of several members of this genus has not been chemically defined, as many taxa are endemic to remote ecosystems. In this study, leaves were collected from the northeast of Brazil from Vitex capitata, V. megapotamica, V. gardneriana, and V. rufescens plants and examined for their chemical profile via GC-MS/FID of essential oil extracts. The analyses showed a diversity of terpenoids. Of particular note were seven-member ring sesquiterpenes which were present in great abundance; a dendrogram showed clades separating by the production of bicyclogermacrene, aromadendrane and 5,10-cycloaromadendrane sesquiterpenoids for the four species. Comparison of volatile metabolite profiles to 13 other Vitex species showed strong similarities in the production of some monoterpenes, but varied by their production of larger terpenes, especially those with gem-dimethylcyclopropyl subunits on seven-member ring compounds. From this work, we suggest that the sesquiterpene skeleton with seven member rings is a good chemosystematic biomarker candidate for the Vitex genus. Separation using this biomarker was then validated using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat profiling. Lastly, experiments examining the toxicity of these four oils against the coconut mite Aceria guerreronis showed that only the oil of V. gardneriana had strong acaricidal activity, with an LC₅₀ of 0.85 mg/mL, thus demonstrating its potential for use as a natural pesticide.

Synthesis of Novel Oxime Sulfonate Derivatives of 2'(2',6')-(Di)chloropicropodophyllotoxins as Insecticidal Agents

To discover novel natural-product-based pesticidal agents, we prepared a series of oxime sulfonate derivatives of 2'(2',6')-(Di)chloropicropodophyllotoxins by structural modification of podophyllotoxin. Their structures were well-characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), optical rotation, and melting point. Moreover, the key steric structure of compound 5f was unambiguously determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Additionally, their insecticidal activity was evaluated at 1 mg/mL against the pre-third-instar larvae of oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata Walker), a typical lepidopteran pest. Among all derivatives, compounds 4c, 5c, and 5d exhibited more promising insecticidal activity, with the final mortality rates greater than 60%, when compared to their precursor podophyllotoxin and the positive control, toosendanin. It demonstrated that introduction of the chlorine atom at the C-2' or C-2',6' position on the E ring of picropodophyllotoxin or oxime sulfonate derivatives of picropodophyllotoxin was important for the insecticidal activity and introduction of a halogen (e.g., fluorine, chlorine, or bromine) atom-substituted phenylsulfonyl group on the oxime fragment of 2'(2',6')-(di)chloropicropodophyllones could lead to more promising compounds.