Biological activity of coumarins against Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

F. CORZO; D. RUIZ; G. ROMANELLI; F. PUCCI; M. GILABERT

International Journal of Pest Management

Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Año: 2023

In this work, we evaluated the activity of coumarins against larvae Spodoptera frugiperda in agroup of compounds (1-7) purchased from SIGMA-ALDRICH (96% purity, as informed by themanufacturer) and a group of coumarin derivatives (compounds 8-15) synthesized accordingto suitable chemistry procedures. Coumarins were synthesized by the Pechmann methodunder solvent-free conditions using a bulk Keggin heteropolyacid. The compounds representa valuable resource for future studies of plant chemical defense. Results indicate thatcoumarins: (12) 7-methyl-3,4-dimethyl-2H-chromen-2-one, (14) 7-hydroxy-3,4 dimethyl-2Hchromen-2-one, and (15) 4-methyl-2H-benzo[h]-chromen-2-one have highly significant insectgrowth regulatory activity. Furthermore, sublethal effects were observed such as pupalmortality and adult deformities. Compounds (13) 4,6,7-trimethyl-2H-chromen-2-one and (14)7-hydroxy-3,4 dimethyl-2H-chromen-2-one caused pupal mortality higher than 40%. Thequantitative structure-activity relationships were determined using the available data with thepurpose of predicting the toxicity activity of a number of structurally related coumarins. Amolecular structure and biological activity relationship is suggested. The observed effectswere in part produced by severe alterations of the epithelial cells of the midgut.