Abstract

Simple SummaryThere is an increasing interest in botanical insecticides worldwide. Plants from the genus Tephrosia are rich in bioactive phytochemicals, particularly rotenoids which include rotenone, deguelin, rotenolone, and tephrosin. Rotenoids have strong insecticidal activities against a wider range of pests. However, there has been no treatise thus far focusing on Tephrosia as insecticidal plants. This article is intended to review phytochemicals produced by selected species, their insecticidal activities, and the current status on the use of Tephrosia as botanical insecticidal plants for insect pest control.Synthetic insecticides are effective in controlling insect pests but can also harm nontarget organisms and the environment. During the last 40 years, there has been an increasing interest in alternative insecticides, particularly those derived from plants, commonly known as botanical insecticides. However, commercially available botanical insecticides remain limited. Rotenone is one of the earliest identified compounds and was used as fish poison and pest management. Due to its link with Parkinson disease, the use of rotenone was banned in many developed countries. Rotenone used to be isolated from Derris spp. and Lonchocarpus spp., and it can also be isolated from Tephrosia species. In this article, we present basic botanical information on selected Tephrosia species and their major compounds related to insecticidal activities and highlight the current use of extracts derived from some species, Tephrosia vogelii in particular, for control of insect pests in stored grains and crop production. The crude extracts contain multiple bioactive compounds, mainly rotenone, deguelin, rotenolone, and tephrosin, which act in either additive or synergistic fashion, resulting in effective control of insect pests. There are about 400 species in the genus Tephrosia, and species and even strains or variants vary greatly in these active compounds. We argue that a systematic evaluation of bioactive compounds in different species are needed, and species or strains with high insecticidal activities should be selected for use in the sustainable control of insect pests.

Highlights

  • Application of synthetic insecticides is the most common way of controlling insect pests in crop production [1]

  • With the advance of molecular marker tools and omics technologies, we believe that rotenoid contents can be significantly enhanced by modern breeding technologies. (b) Chemotypes or variants occur within varieties of T. vogelii, individual plants may differ significantly in rotenone, deguelin, rotenolone, and tephrosin contents (Belmain et al, 2012). (c) Deguelin could be an important compound against insect pests

  • Current data indicate that deguelin could be equal to or more important than rotenone in pest management

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Summary

Introduction

Application of synthetic insecticides is the most common way of controlling insect pests in crop production [1]. An alternative to synthetic insecticides is botanical insecticides Botanical insecticides are those consisting of dried, ground plant materials, crude plant extracts, or chemicals isolated from plants and used for managing insect pests [7]. Botanical insecticides have features of selectivity, low toxicity to livestock and natural enemies, with a few exception, low mammalian toxicity [7,8] Botanical insecticides, those plant-derived extracts from local farmers, are relatively cheaper in preparation and convenient in application with lower cost, due to the locally grown plants for local use in comparison to the use of synthetic ones [9,13]. This article is intended to review general botanical characteristics of selected species, phytochemical production, and their potentials as botanical insecticides for insect pest control

Common Species and Their Insecticidal Activities
Tephrosia
Tephrosia candida
Tephrosia elata
Tephrosia purpurea
Tephrosia villosa
Tephrosia virginiana
The Use of Tephrosia Plants for Managing Insect Pests
Commercial
Crude Extracts for Insect Control in Field Crop Production
Tephrosia for Controlling Insect Pests in Stored Grains
Concerns over the Use of Tephrosia Species as Botanical Insecticides
Findings
Conclusions and Future Outlook
Full Text
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