Neem oil as natural pesticide: Pseudo ternary diagram and computational study

Abstract

Bitter principles of neem oil have proven activity against agricultural pests. The neem oil is also reported for its potential insecticidal and mosquito repellency properties. As active principles of a non-edible neem oil cannot be separated from oil itself, formulating microemulsions of neem oil have a promising future. Microemulsions are preferred over conventionally used pesticide systems like for their long-term thermodynamic stability, safety, low viscosity, cost economy and aesthetic appeal. A pseudo ternary diagram is a convenient way of determining the compositions of the stable microemulsions and macroemulsions. By identifying specific regions in such plots, possible economical compositions can be determined. Such compositions use optimum quantities of surfactants. Moreover, our molecular docking analysis of an active principles of neem oil against odorant binding proteins, viz. 3N7H and 3Q8I suggested that compound, nimbin had higher binding affinities towards OBPs with docking scores of −87.4861 and −105.696 ​kcal/mol than their corresponding reference ligands. Thus, for a safer, an effective and an economical designing and developments of natural mosquito repellents, this study can be considered useful.