Grain Protection Potential of Decaleside II, a New Plant-Derived Natural Insecticide

Decaleside II is the novel trisaccharide isolated from the edible roots of Decalepis hamiltonii that belong to a new class of natural insecticides. In the present study we have investigated grain protection potential and persistence activity of Decaleside II against stored-product pests such as Rhyzopertha dominica, Sitophilus oryzae, Tribolium castaneum and Callosobruchus chinensis. Decaleside II usually increased parental mortality and reduced F1 progeny in residual toxicity bioassays. At 7 days of the storage period of treated grains and pulses, the mortality was 100% of all four stored product insects. Both wheat and green gram treated with Decaleside II were totally free from infestation for the longer period of storage up to 210 d. Decaleside II being a natural trisaccharide, does not pose any toxic hazard from the treated grain and the lack of toxicity is attributed to the 1, 4 α linkage of the sugars which are easily hydrolyzed by the digestive enzymes such as glucosidases. Therefore, the insect selectivity and mammalian safety of Decaleside II make them highly suitable for use as novel grain protectants of natural origin.

Potential use of Clerodendrum capitatum extracts and its formulation for control of three major stored product beetles

Objective:Insecticidal activity of Clerodendrum capitatum extracts against the stored product insect pest,Sitophilus oryzae(L.),Rhyzopertha dominica(F.),and Tribolium castaneum(Herbst)were investigated.Materials and Methods:Hundred grams of C.capitatum powder was sequentially extracted with a series of solvents of increasing polarity in a Soxhlet apparatus and the extracts were concentrated on rotary evaporator to make it solvent free and the residue dissolved in a known volume of methanol and the solution was assayed for insecticidal activity by the fumigant toxicity.Hexane extract which showed maximum activity was selected for the preparation of herbal formulation and for its insecticidal properties and phytotoxicity.The herbal formulation obtained from leaves of C.capitatum was investigated by GCMS and GC/FID.Results:Clerodendrum capitatum ethyl extract had a very strong repellent activity to adults of all three major stored grain insects and was significantly repellent at a 1.58 mg/cm^(2).The hexane extract(oil)had high fumigant activity with LC_(50) values in the range between 25 and 32μg/L.A total of 14 components representing 97.8%of the formulation were identified and the main compounds in the formulation were found to be 2-Heptanone,3-methyl(33.9%)and Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone(25.3%)followed by 3-Dodecen-1-al(10.2%)and 8-Methyl-1-undecene(4.9%).Further,herbal formulation was found to be highly toxic to mixed age cultures of all three major stored grain insect pests which recorded 80%-90%mortality at dose of 200μg/L in 24 h exposure,where as 100%mortality achieved at dose of 200μg/L in 72 h exposure,respectively.Conclusion:The results indicate that extracts and formulation of C.capitatum has the potential to be developed in to a natural insecticide or repellent for controlling of stored product beetles.

Potential of edible insects as source of functional foods:biotechnological approaches for improving functionality

Consumption of insects as food has a long history and has been documented by many researches.Globally,it is extensively practiced in Africa,Asia,Australia,and Latin America as traditional food providing nutritional,economic and ecological benefit for rural communities.In today’s world,edible insects are limelight by many researchers and industrialist due to the presence of enormous nutrient potential as well as bioactive compounds.This review mainly focuses on the potential of edible insect for its diverse nutraceutical properties,production and processing as a functional food and its acceptance and boost in the market trends in global scenario.The consumption of edible insects is purely based on ethnic traditional knowledge of the local communities.Previous studies on edible insects have shown their potential as source of nutraceuticals with promote health benefit and can be an alternative source of protein.Most of the edible insects are rich source of protein,energy,vitamins,essential fatty acids and minerals.Beyond these insects can be a source of bioactive compounds especially peptides,which can be applied in functional food industry.In many countries,the traditional knowledge of entomophagy is being applied for production of value-added products using modern technology.