Fruits of Aglaia elliptica and leaves of A. harmsiana yielded seven insecticidal rocaglamide derivatives including five components which proved to be new natural products. Structure elucidation of the new compounds is described. All rocaglamide derivatives isolated exhibited strong insecticidal activity towards neonate larvae of the polyphagous pest insect Spodoptera littoralis when incorporated into an artificial diet with LC 50 values varying from 0.8–19.7 ppm. The known didesmethylrocaglamide was the most active compound encountered. Its LC 50 (0.8 ppm) and EC 50, (0.05 ppm) were identical to those of azadirachtin which was included as a positive control. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved