Essential oil optimizes the susceptibility of and enhances the nutritional qualities of stored cowpea .

The intensive use of synthetic pesticides in cowpea storage has led to the development of resistance by and subsequent degradation of grain quality. In an attempt to circumvent these constraints, the susceptibility of to 2,2-dichlorovinyldimethyl phosphate (DDVP) and essential oil (EO) was investigated and variations in the proportions of nutritional values of treated grains 150 days after storage were assessed. The survival rate was recorded after five generations. The resistance index and biochemical parameters of grains were determined. The results from this study revealed that the survival rate and resistance index significantly increased proportionally with damage in DDVP treatments ( = 0.889;  = 0.018) while in EO treatments, those values remained low without significant variations ( = 0.0764) throughout the generations. DDVP stored grains yielded higher crude protein values, but lower carbohydrates, tannins, phenolics and minerals compared to EO. Eighteen amino acids were detected in EO treated grains and 14 in DDVP which was devoid of albumin and prolamin. EO could therefore represent a safe alternative bio-pesticide to cope with insect resistance and enhance the nutritional qualities of stored cowpea seeds.