Electroantennography of terpene-volatile compounds with insecticidal activity

CORVALAN NATALIA,; CHRISTELLE MONSEMPÈS; SANCHEZ BORZONE, M; GARCIA, DA; PHILIPPE LUCAS

Congreso; 8èmes journées scientifiques, MediatEC (MÉDIATION CHIMIQUE DANS L?ENVIRONNEMENT ÉCOLOGIE CHIMIQUE); 2022

MediatEC

Synthetic insecticides have adverse effects on non-target organisms, ecosystemsand human health due to their high toxicity and residual accumulation in differentenvironmental components and organism tissues. Moreover, their long-termapplications generate the development of pest resistance. This has led to a growinginterest in novel, more environmentally friendly insecticides. Essential oils andtheir active constituents, especially monoterpenoids, which play an important rolein plant defense system against microorganisms, insects, herbivores andallelopathic interactions, are considered as an alternative to synthetic insecticides.Electroantennography (EAG), a technique widely used in insect olfaction studies, isperform in the present work on males of the Noctuid Agrotis ipsilon to characterizethe electrical response evoked by well-known natural insecticides such as thujone,carvone, and pulegone, among others, from the peripheral nervous system ofinsects. Neuroactive insecticides elicit dose-dependent EAG responses that dependon the chemical structure of monoterpenes. The EAG technique is useful foridentifying bioactive compounds in screening of volatiles of interest, and providespreliminary pharmacological characterization of potential neurotoxic insecticides.