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Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control
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Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 7709

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yongjian Xie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Interests: plant extracts; integrated pest management
Dr. Xiangrong Tian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Economic Plant Resources Development and Utilization, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: bioactive natural products; pesticide; plant production

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant extracts and essential oils (EOs) have gained recognition as environmentally friendly and effective solutions for pest management. These plant extracts and EOs offer advantages such as low toxicity, minimal residue, affordability, easily degradable, and high safety for human health. Most phytochemicals from herbs and woody plants are alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans, phenylpropanoids, quinoids, tannins, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, glycosides, or volatile oils responsible for their biological activities. The extraction of phytochemicals with insecticidal activity from plants is one of the important developments of natural product research.

This Special Issue aims to explore more plant essential oils and extracts with insecticidal activity to isolate and identify chemical substances with specific insecticidal activity, the development of effective pesticide formulations and non-target effect studies, as well as the latest progress in field applications. The mechanism of action of plant extracts will also be considered.

Dr. Yongjian Xie
Dr. Xiangrong Tian
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant extracts
  • phytochemistry
  • insecticidal activity
  • formulation development
  • mechanism of action
  • integrated pest management

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8581 KiB  
Article
Mangrove Against Invasive Snails: Aegiceras corniculatum Shows a Molluscicidal Effect on Exotic Apple Snails (Pomacea canaliculata) in Mangroves
by Xinyan Yang, Hongmei Li, Huizhen Xie, Yanfang Ma, Yuting Yu, Qingping Liu, Junhao Kuang, Miaoying Zhang, Jinling Liu and Benliang Zhao
Plants 2025, 14(5), 823; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14050823 - 6 Mar 2025
Viewed by 665
Abstract
Apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata), one of the 100 most serious invasive species in the world, have invaded mangrove wetlands due to their salinity tolerance. We firstly prepared a plant molluscicide against apple snails based on the mangrove Aegiceras corniculatum in coastal [...] Read more.
Apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata), one of the 100 most serious invasive species in the world, have invaded mangrove wetlands due to their salinity tolerance. We firstly prepared a plant molluscicide against apple snails based on the mangrove Aegiceras corniculatum in coastal wetland. The effects of four mangrove extracts from A. corniculatum, including ethanol extract (EE), petroleum ether extract (PEE), ethyl acetate extract (EAE), and n-butanol extract (BE), were studied for molluscicidal activity against apple snails in a saline environment. The LC50 values at 48 h of EE, PEE, EAE, and BE were 25 mg/L, 123 mg/L, 170 mg/L, and 14 mg/L, respectively. BE had the highest molluscicidal value (96.7%) against apple snails at 48 h. At 48 h, BE of A. corniculatum leaves significantly decreased the soluble sugar content, soluble protein content, acetylcholinesterase, and glutathione of apple snails to 4.25 mg/g, 29.50 mg/g, 947.1 U/gprot, and 6.22 U/gprot, respectively, compared to those in the control. The increased BE concentration significantly enhanced the malondialdehyde and aspartate aminotransferase contents to 4.18 mmol/gprot and 18.9 U/gprot at 48 h. Furthermore, the damage in the hepatopancreas tissue of apple snails increased, and the cellular structure became necrotic as the concentration of BE from A. corniculatum increased. The content of palmitic acid in BE of A. corniculatum leaves was the highest (10.9%), possibly be a toxic ingredient against apple snails. The n-butanol extract of A. corniculatum leaves showed a potential to control apple snails in the brackish water, and its plantation was beneficial to control the further spread of apple snails in mangrove wetlands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control)
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15 pages, 891 KiB  
Article
Chemical Composition, Larvicidal and Ovicidal Activities, and Enzyme Inhibition Capacity of Thymus serpyllum Essential Oils Against Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)
by Lijun Wang, Siluo Jing, Shuang Wang, Zhikai Xing, Jiangyong Qu and Xumin Wang
Plants 2024, 13(23), 3315; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13233315 - 26 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 972
Abstract
Due to their effectiveness at low doses and relative safety for non-target species, plant essential oils (EOs) are considered ideal alternatives to conventional pesticides for pest control. In this study, the chemical composition of Thymus serpyllum (T. serpyllum) EO was construed [...] Read more.
Due to their effectiveness at low doses and relative safety for non-target species, plant essential oils (EOs) are considered ideal alternatives to conventional pesticides for pest control. In this study, the chemical composition of Thymus serpyllum (T. serpyllum) EO was construed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and its larvicidal and ovicidal activity against omnivorous pests Spodoptera litura (S. litura) was assessed. The effects of T. serpyllum EO on the activities of antioxidant detoxification enzymes were also measured. GC–MS analysis revealed that the main constituents of T. serpyllum EO were thymol (42.1%), p-cymene (22.4%), and γ-terpinene (18.6%). In the larvicidal toxicity experiment, the T. serpyllum EO demonstrated LC50 values of 0.606 and 0.664 mg/mL against the second- and third-instar larvae of S. litura, respectively, after 48 h exposure. Moreover, an EC50 value of 0.905 mg/mL was measured against S. litura eggs. In S. litura, T. serpyllum EO treatment reduced the enzymatic activity of ESTs and GST and, conversely, increased the enzymatic activity of AChE. Overall, this study demonstrated that T. serpyllum EO has the potential to be implemented as a novel eco-friendly insecticide against S. litura. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control)
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16 pages, 720 KiB  
Article
Sequential Separation of Essential Oil Components during Hydrodistillation of Fresh Foliage from Azorean Cryptomeria japonica (Cupressaceae): Effects on Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Free Radical Scavenging Activities
by Filipe Arruda, Ana Lima, Tanner Wortham, Alexandre Janeiro, Tânia Rodrigues, José Baptista, José S. Rosa and Elisabete Lima
Plants 2024, 13(13), 1729; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13131729 - 22 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1253
Abstract
Cryptomeria japonica wood industry generates large amounts of foliage biomass residues. Due to the increasing applications and markets for essential oils (EOs), fresh Azorean C. japonica foliage (Az–CJF) residues are used for local EO production. Hydrodistillation (HD), a common process for obtaining EOs, [...] Read more.
Cryptomeria japonica wood industry generates large amounts of foliage biomass residues. Due to the increasing applications and markets for essential oils (EOs), fresh Azorean C. japonica foliage (Az–CJF) residues are used for local EO production. Hydrodistillation (HD), a common process for obtaining EOs, also provides the possibility to fractionate them. Thus, this study evaluated the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of six Az–CJF EO fractions (Frs. 1–6), collected at sequential HD timeframes (HDTs: 0–2, 2–10, 10–30, 30–60, 60–120, and 120–240 min), in comparison to the crude EO, obtained from a non-fractionated HD (0–240 min HDT). Antimicrobial activities were assessed via disc diffusion method against seven bacteria (foodborne and/or human pathogens) and two Penicillium spp. (phytopathogenic fungi), and antioxidant activity was estimated using DPPH and ABTS assays. Concerning the antibacterial activity, all the EO samples were effective only toward Gram-positive bacteria. Fractions 1–3 (<30 min HDT) were the most active, with growth inhibition zones (GIZ) of 7.0–23.3 mm (1.4–2.2 times higher than those of the crude EO), being Bacillus spp. (B. licheniformis and B. subtilis) the most sensitive, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus. Regarding the antifungal activity, Frs. 1–3 also displayed the best activities, but only against P. italicum (GIZ around 9.0 mm), while the crude EO showed no antifungal activity. Overall, the best antimicrobial properties of Frs. 1–3 could be attributed, at least in part, to their highest content in α-pinene and bornyl acetate. On the other hand, Frs. 4–6 (>30 min HDT) exhibited the strongest antioxidant activities (EC50 values: 1.5–2.3 and 1.0–1.7 mg mL−1 for DPPH and ABTS, respectively), being at least 1.3-fold higher than those of the crude EO. The presence of nezukol, elemol, and eudesmol isomers could strongly contribute to the best free radical scavenging properties of Frs. 4–6. In conclusion, HD was found to be an efficient process for obtaining new Az–CJF EO fractions with variable and enhanced bioactivities due to their differential composition, as assessed using GC–MS. Hence, these findings could contribute to increasing the commercial potential of the C. japonica EO industry, namely, the Fr2 and Fr6, which presented the most significant activities and can have potential applications in the food, medical, and agriculture sectors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control)
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14 pages, 1706 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Ten Alternative Treatments for the Management of Harlequin Bug (Murgantia histrionica) on Brassica Crops
by Sarah Clark, Ricardo Bessin, David Gonthier and Jonathan Larson
Plants 2024, 13(12), 1618; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13121618 - 12 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1898
Abstract
Harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica) poses a significant threat to cruciferous vegetable crops, leading to economic losses and challenges in sustainable agriculture. This 2-year field study evaluated the efficacy of exclusion netting and selected biopesticides in controlling harlequin bug populations in a [...] Read more.
Harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica) poses a significant threat to cruciferous vegetable crops, leading to economic losses and challenges in sustainable agriculture. This 2-year field study evaluated the efficacy of exclusion netting and selected biopesticides in controlling harlequin bug populations in a field-grown broccoli crop. Treatments included an untreated control, industry standards Azera and Entrust, and ProtekNet mesh netting. Additionally, three commercial essential oil treatments including Essentria IC-3, Nature-Cide, and Zero Tolerance were tested along with two bokashi fermented composting products BrewKashi and Oriental Herbal Nutrient (OHN). During both the first and second year of the study, none of the commercially produced essential oil products or bokashi products were effective in controlling harlequin bug or preventing leaf scars. Conversely, ProtekNet consistently provided the highest level of protection against harlequin bugs of all stages as well as leaf damage scars; it also provided the largest broccoli head width and highest yield. Entrust showed similar results compared to ProtekNet, both with the control of harlequin bug life stages and with leaf scars. These findings indicate that both ProtekNet and Entrust are effective organic alternatives for managing harlequin bug on broccoli, while the selected essential oil and bokashi products do not appear to be effective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control)
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14 pages, 3546 KiB  
Article
Mentha spp. Essential Oils: A Potential Toxic Fumigant with Inhibition of Acetylcholinesterase Activity on Reticulitermes dabieshanensis
by Ziwei Wu, Chunzhe Jin, Yiyang Chen, Shimeng Yang, Xi Yang, Dayu Zhang and Yongjian Xie
Plants 2023, 12(23), 4034; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12234034 - 30 Nov 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1927
Abstract
In this study, we analyzed the components of Mentha spp. essential oils (EOs) and evaluated their major constituents and binary combinations against Reticulitermes dabieshanensis. We also determined the activities of esterases (ESTs), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) in treated insects. [...] Read more.
In this study, we analyzed the components of Mentha spp. essential oils (EOs) and evaluated their major constituents and binary combinations against Reticulitermes dabieshanensis. We also determined the activities of esterases (ESTs), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) in treated insects. According to our findings, the most effective oils were those obtained from M. citrata (with the major constituent linalool constituting 45.1%), M. piperita (menthol, 49.1%), and M. spicata (carvone, 69.0%), with LC50 values of 0.176, 0.366, and 0.146 μL/L, respectively. The LC50 values were recorded for linalool (0.303 μL/L), followed by menthol (0.272 μL/L), and carvone (0.147 μL/L). The insecticidal potency increased with binary mixtures of major active constituents, with carvone strongly synergizing the toxicity of linalool and menthol against R. dabieshanensis. Compared to the control, except for M. citrata treated with no difference in α-NA or GST activity, the activities of ESTs and GST in other treatment groups were significantly increased. Additionally, our results found that Mentha spp. EOs and their major constituents inhibited the activity of AChE in vivo and in vitro. Finally, we performed a structure-based virtual screening of linalool, menthol, and carvone to identify that linalool had the greatest potential to bind to the active site of AChE. The present study suggests that Mentha spp. EOs could provide an additional approach for the management of termites over synthetic insecticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Plant Extracts in Pest Control)
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