2, 3-Dimethylmaleic anhydride (3, 4-Dimethyl-2, 5-furandione): A plant derived insecticidal molecule from Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta (L.) Schott

Abstract

The phasing out of methyl bromide as a fumigant, resistance problems with phosphine and other fumigants in stored product beetles, and serious concern with human health and environmental safety have triggered the search for alternative biofumigants of plant origin. Despite the identification of a large number of plants that show insecticidal activity, and the diversity of natural products with inherent eco-friendly nature, newer biofumigants of plant origin have eluded discovery. Using a bioassay driven protocol, we have now isolated a bioactive molecule from the root stock of Colocasia esculenta (L.) and characterized it as 2, 3-dimethylmaleic anhydride (3, 4-dimethyl-2, 5-furandione) based on various physico-chemical and spectroscopic techniques (IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass). The molecule proved to be an efficient biofumigant which is highly toxic to insect pests for stored grains even at very low concentration, but has no adverse effect on seed germination. We finally address the potential for this molecule to become a, effective biofumigant.

Biochemical efficacy, molecular docking and inhibitory effect of 2, 3-dimethylmaleic anhydride on insect acetylcholinesterase

“…Natural products could be an excellent source of novel pest control agents. An important attribute of natural product- based pesticide compounds is that they are relatively eco-friendly 21 , 22 . Among the many important insecticide classes, their origin is traceable to a natural product as in the case of pyrethoids, avermectins, decaleside; spinosads and the neonicotinoids 23 – 25 .…”

“…2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride the natural insecticides isolated and characterized by us from the root stock of Colocasia esculenta , were found to be toxic to a variety of insect species by the method of fumigation 21 . Our earlier studies showed that the insect toxicity of 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride was comparable to that of chemical insecticides (fumigants) and more potent than that of reported natural fumigants as evident by the LC 50 values in fumigant bioassay 21 . Although, several natural compounds have been reported to exhibit fumigant toxicity, there is no comparative study of the toxicity of a natural compound with that of synthetic insecticides on insects in a fumigant bioassay.…”

“…Recently, Rajashekar et al . 21 isolated 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride, a novel biofumigant molecule from root stock of C . esculenta (L.) Schott, which is highly toxic to various stored grain insects and house fly by fumigation 21 .…”

“… 21 isolated 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride, a novel biofumigant molecule from root stock of C . esculenta (L.) Schott, which is highly toxic to various stored grain insects and house fly by fumigation 21 . Further, this molecule has no adverse effect on seed germination which makes it highly desirable for grain/seed protection against stored grain insect pests.…”

Tarin, a Potential Immunomodulator and COX‐Inhibitor Lectin Found in Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

“…Such a set of bioactive molecules exhibits interesting pharmacological properties, based on in vitro and/or in vivo experiments in mice, consistent with some of their popular uses. Taro corm and leaf extracts have been reported as antitumoral/antimetastatic (Brown et al., ; Kundu et al., ), antihyperlipidemic/antihypercholesterolemic (Sakano et al., ), anxiolytic (Kalariya, Parmar, & Sheth, ), wound healing (Gonçalves et al., ), antimelanogenic (Kim, Moon, Kim, & Lee, ), anti‐inflammatory (Biren, Nayak, Bhatt, Jalalpure, & Seth, ), probiotic (Brown & Valiere, ), antihypertensive (Vasant et al., ), antidiabetic (Eleazu, Iroaganachi, & Eleazu, ; Kumawat, Chaudhari, Wani, Deshmukh, & Patil, ; H. M. Li, Hwang, Kang, Hong, & Lim, ), antioxidant (Lee, Wee, Yong, & Syamsumir, ), hepatoprotective (Chinonyelum, Uwadiegwu, Nwachukwu, & Emmanuel, ; Patil & Ageely, ), antimicrobial (Dhanraj, Kadam, Patil, & Mane, ), anthelmintic (Kubde, Khadabadi, Farooqui, & Deore, ), mitogenic (Pereira et al., , ; Tulin & Ecleo, ), hypolipidemic (Boban, Nambisan, & Sudhakaran, ), insecticidal (Rajashekar, Tonsing, Shantibala, & Manjunath, ) and antiviral (Keyaerts et al., ). The biological properties attributed to taro corm extracts, the focus of this review, is displayed in Figure (gray circles) alongside the activities reported for the lectin from taro corms, tarin (dashed green lines).…”