Alkaloids in Pesticides

Insects are our chief competitor for food and crop resources throughout the world. The presence of insects usually has a negative impact on food production. Therefore, a variety of compounds are designed, synthesized, and employed in agriculture to enhance crop yields and actual production. However, long-term use of chemical synthetic pesticides can cause pests to develop resistance. In addition, some chemical synthetic pesticides cannot be degraded in the crops, which eventually cause secondary pollution. Management of insects with natural product pesticides is a highly desirable component of pest management strategies which provide useful alternative or supplement to conventional synthetic insecticides. These chemicals are more desirable than conventional synthetic insecticides on account of their rapid environmental biodegradation and low toxicity to non-target organisms. Alkaloids are a special group of naturally occurring secondary products that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms, and exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Due to the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anticancer properties of alkaloids, previous research has focused on the application of these compounds in the medical field. However, in recent years, researchers have discovered that alkaloids also play an important role in agricultural processes.

The role of alkaloids in agriculture

The role of alkaloids in agriculture include but are not limited to the following.

• Inhibits fungi

Studies have shown that alkaloids possess good to excellent activities against crop pathogenic fungi. For example, pyrrolizidine alkaloids are active alkylating agents. It can interfere with cell mitosis for bactericidal purposes. Marine alkaloids can also achieve fungicidal effects by virtue of the following antifungal mechanisms: (1) Inhibiting the activity of isocitrate lyase to resist fungi; (2) Inducing abnormal cell wall morphology by "penetrating membrane microdomains"; (3) Affecting the integrity of fungal cell membrane.

• Pest control

Alkaloids have been used in the field and farms as traditional means for the control of pest and vermifuges. Natural products such as piperine, matrine, nicotine, tomatine, and berberine are active against different kinds of pests, showing strong activities of anesthesia, touch, fumigation, and inhibition of growth and development. For example, piperine analogs containing isoxazoline/pyrazoline scaffolds inhibit the proliferative activity of cells, resulting in a strong insecticidal effect against Plutella xylostella and Mythimna separata, which denote two agricultural pests that typically threaten crops^[1].

• Weed control

There are about 30,000 species of weeds widely distributed worldwide, while thousands of weeds cause different degrees of damage to crops every year. Due to the need for sustainable agricultural development, alkaloids with herbicidal activity have received a lot of attention from researchers. For example, berberine is an organic herbicide obtained from Coptis chinensis. Berberine has a certain toxicity to the root of weeds. In addition, it can induce plants to produce reactive oxygen species and inhibit the antioxidant enzymes in plants, so that plants receive oxidative damage to achieve herbicidal effect.

What can we do?

Alfa Chemistry has developed a range of alkaloids to meet the natural product pesticide needs of our customers. We will serve you with the most abundant experience and affordable price. If you have any problems, we will provide technical support and develop a unique solution for you. Please don't hesitate to contact us.

Reference

1. Yang R.; et al. Synthesis of piperine analogs containing isoxazoline/pyrazoline scaffold and their pesticidal bioactivities. J Agric Food Chem. 2018, 66(43): 11254-11264.