Comparative study of three plant-derived extracts as new management strategies against Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 3542 - 13
• Main Authors: Hussein, Hanaa S., Salem, Mohamed Z. M., Soliman, Ahmed M., Eldesouky, Sahar E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02-03-2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/1647; 631/45; 631/601; Acids; Animals; Caffeic acid; Catechol; Chlorogenic acid; Cinnamic acid; Comparative studies; Coumaric Acids - pharmacology; Eggs; Fecundity; Ferulic acid; Gallic acid; Hatchability; High-performance liquid chromatography; Humanities and Social Sciences; Insecticides; Larva; Larvae; Leaves; Liquid chromatography; Methanol; multidisciplinary; p-Hydroxybenzoic acid; Pest control; Pests; Phenols; Plant extracts; Plants; Protocatechuic acid; Pupation; Schinus terebinthifolius; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spodoptera; Toxicity; α-Amylase
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30588-x

Finding innovative eco-friendly agents for pest control may be aided by investigating the plant-derived extracts’ properties on economic pests. Therefore, the insecticidal, behavioral, biological and biochemical effects of
Magnolia grandiflora
(Magnoliaceae) leaf water and methanol extracts,
Schinus terebinthifolius
(Anacardiaceae) wood methanol extract, and
Salix babylonica
(Salicaceae) leaf methanol extract in comparison with a reference insecticide novaluron against
S. littoralis
were evaluated. The extracts were analyzed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The most abundant phenolic compounds were 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (7.16 mg/mL) and ferulic acid (6.34 mg/mL) in
M. grandiflora
leaf water extract; catechol (13.05 mg/mL), ferulic acid (11.87 mg/mL), and chlorogenic acid (10.33 mg/mL) in
M. grandiflora
leaf methanol extract; ferulic acid (14.81 mg/mL), caffeic acid (5.61 mg/mL), and gallic acid (5.07 mg/mL) In the
S. terebinthifolius
extract; cinnamic acid (11.36 mg/mL), and protocatechuic acid (10.33 mg/mL) In the methanol extract from
S. babylonica
extract.
S. terebinthifolius
extract had a highly toxic effect against second larvae after 96 h and eggs with LC
50
values of 0.89 and 0.94 mg/L, respectively. Despite
M. grandiflora
extracts didn’t show any toxicity against
S. littoralis
stages, they had an attractant effect on fourth- and second larvae, with feeding deterrence values of − 2.7% and − 6.7%, respectively, at 10 mg/L.
S. terebinthifolius
extract significantly reduced the percentage of pupation, adult emergence, hatchability, and fecundity, with values of 60.2%, 56.7%, 35.3%, and 105.4 eggs/female, respectively. Novaluron and
S. terebinthifolius
extract drastically inhibited the activities of α-amylase and total proteases to 1.16 and 0.52, and 1.47 and 0.65 ΔOD/mg protein/min, respectively. In the semi-field experiment, the residual toxicity of tested extracts on
S. littoralis
gradually decreased over time compared to novaluron. These findings indicate that extract from
S. terebinthifolius
is a promising insecticidal agent against
S. littoralis
.