Natural Product-Based Biopesticides for Insect Control☆
Current as of 22 December 2014
- Update of
3.09 - Natural Product-Based Biopesticides for Insect Control
- Comprehensive Natural Products II, Volume 3, 2010, Pages 237-268
Abstract
Biopesticides offer a more sustainable solution to pest control than synthetic alternatives. As chemical pesticides are withdrawn owing to resistance problems or because they are no longer commercially viable, an opportunity arises for biorational solutions. Biopesticides do not feature residue problems which are a matter of significant concern for consumers. However, biopesticides are not as effective as chemicals. Compatibility with synthetic pesticides varies and shelf life is often shorter.
Considering the growing demand for organic production of food and registration-related problems, the number of pest management products that can be used in this sort of production is limited.
Natural product-based search strategies have had some notable successes. The pesticide industry’s natural product search efforts to date have concentrated on compounds of microbial origin primarily from non-pathogenic soil microbes. Less effort has been put into the search for pesticides of plant origin. Bioassay-directed isolation has been the preferred search method once a producing organism has been selected. This laborious approach often leads to the rediscovery of known compounds. Modern tandem separation/chemical characterization instrumentation can eliminate much of this problem by identifying compounds before they are bioassayed.
Pesticide search strategies discovery are no different from drug research. The dominant and most successful strategy has been that of systematically screening large numbers of synthetic compounds followed by the structure optimization of lead compounds. The biorational approach entailing the design of inhibitors of specific molecular target sites was in vogue for several years. Using natural products as pesticides or as leads for new ones has had intermediate success. New tools have supported each of these strategies. For example, combinatorial chemistry combined with chemical diversity theory and high throughput screening allows for swifter production and testing of synthetic compounds. Similarly, new technologies have significantly improved the speed with which natural products can be discovered and evaluated for biological activities.
Keywords
- Alkaloids;
- Biopesticides;
- Chromenes;
- Coumarins;
- Diterpenes;
- Flavones;
- Insecticides;
- Lignans;
- Mode of action;
- Monoterpenes;
- Natural products;
- Sesquiterpenes;
- Triterpenes
