A bioinformatics approach reveals the insecticidal property of Morinda tinctoria Roxb. against the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigra

Abstract

Botanical insecticides have been acknowledged as attractive alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides for pest management as they apparently pose little hazard to the environment or to human health. A number of plant substances have been considered for use as insect antifeedant and repellent. Studying the insecticidal property of plants against the insects is a difficult process. Hence we have done an insecticidal property analysis of phytochemicals derived from Chloroform, Ethyl acetate and Methanol extracts of root-bark and fruit of Morinda tinctoria against the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera using bioinformatics approaches such as molecular structure property analysis, homology modeling and docking studies. Nine compounds from the root-bark and fruit extract of M.tinctoria were observed to strictly follow Tice rule and 8 compounds present in the extract and also known to have insecticidal property from literature were selected as ligands. The enzymes Acetylcholinesterase, Carboxylesterase and Protease of Helicoverpa armigera were decided as targets for the docking studies. The 3D structure of targets was modeled and the interaction between the enzymes and phytochemicals were studied using molecular docking studies in order to find effective insecticide.