Baz Mohamed M, Elhawary Esraa A, Abdelhafiz Abeer H A, Mostafa Reham M, Alruhaili Mohammed H, Gattan Hattan S, Selim Abdelfattah, Gad Mohammed E, Abd-Elkhalek Heba F
Faculty of Science, Department of Entomology, Benha University, Benha, 13518, Egypt.
Faculty of Education and Arts, Department of Biology, Sohar University, Sohar, 311, Oman.
Acta Parasitol. 2025 Jun 9;70(3):129. doi: 10.1007/s11686-025-01066-3.
The extensive use of chemical pesticides poses risks to the environment and human health due to the toxicity and poor biodegradability. Alternative natural practices, including the use of natural molecules, are needed to achieve more sustainable production methods to meet consumer and societal expectations. Plants contain a wide range of potential phytochemicals that target a specific target, are rapidly biodegradable, are environmentally friendly, and have a variety of therapeutic effects, making them a treasure trove of biological materials.
Toxicity of hot Capsicum annuum extracts was tested against 3 instar larvae of Culex pipiens and Musca domestica. LC₅₀ values were determined using serial concentrations, and phytochemical profiling was performed to identify active compounds with molecular docking studies.
In this study, different exposure periods of various Capsicum annuum extracts showed high insecticidal activity against mosquito and housefly larvae. The petroleum ether (CAPe) extract from C. annuum was the most effective (100 MO%) against Culex pipiens (LC = 150.46 ppm) and Musca domestica larvae (LC = 0.18 mg/ml) 24 h after treatment. The LC dose of the CAPe extract led to a negative effect on the insect metabolism process represented by a significant decrease in the activity level of protease, lipase, α-amylase, and invertase enzymes in both mosquito and fly larvae. Antimicrobial activity tests showed that the CAPe extract killed all of the microbes that were tested, except for Penicillium glabrum. The UPLC/MS comparison of the four Capsicum extracts led to the possible identification of eighty metabolites. The large amounts of flavonoids, phenolic acids, and capsaicinoids were in line with what has been written about the genus Capsicum. Moreover, the multivariate data analysis showed that capsaicinoids, sophorolipids, triterpenoids, and phenolic acids were abundant in the methanol extract compared to flavonoids, triterpenoids, and fatty acids for the petroleum ether extract. Simultaneously, the docking results showed that all of the docked compounds could fit into the digestive lysosome active site of M. domestica (2H5Z).
The major compounds in petroleum ether extract were able to interact with essential amino acids at the target sites of both Cx. pipiens and M. domestica, and therefore the insects' life-supporting functions were negatively affected. Overall, CAPe extract from Capsicum annuum could be a promising ecofriendly bioinsecticide.
由于化学农药的毒性和较差的生物降解性，其广泛使用对环境和人类健康构成风险。需要采用替代的自然方法，包括使用天然分子，以实现更可持续的生产方式，满足消费者和社会的期望。植物含有多种潜在的植物化学物质，这些物质靶向特定目标、可快速生物降解、对环境友好且具有多种治疗作用，使其成为生物材料的宝库。
测试了辣椒提取物对致倦库蚊和家蝇3龄幼虫的毒性。使用系列浓度测定半数致死浓度（LC₅₀）值，并进行植物化学分析以通过分子对接研究鉴定活性化合物。
在本研究中，不同辣椒提取物的不同暴露期对蚊子和家蝇幼虫均显示出高杀虫活性。辣椒的石油醚提取物（CAPe）在处理24小时后对致倦库蚊（LC = 150.46 ppm）和家蝇幼虫（LC = 0.18 mg/ml）最有效（100 MO%）。CAPe提取物的LC剂量对昆虫代谢过程产生负面影响，表现为蚊子和苍蝇幼虫中蛋白酶、脂肪酶、α -淀粉酶和转化酶的活性水平显著降低。抗菌活性测试表明，CAPe提取物杀死了所有测试的微生物，除了光滑青霉。四种辣椒提取物的超高效液相色谱/质谱比较使得有可能鉴定出80种代谢物。大量的黄酮类化合物、酚酸和辣椒素类化合物与关于辣椒属的文献记载一致。此外，多变量数据分析表明，与石油醚提取物中的黄酮类化合物、三萜类化合物和脂肪酸相比，甲醇提取物中辣椒素类化合物、槐糖脂、三萜类化合物和酚酸含量丰富。同时，对接结果表明，所有对接的化合物都能与家蝇（2H5Z）的消化溶酶体活性位点结合。
石油醚提取物中的主要化合物能够与致倦库蚊和家蝇靶位点的必需氨基酸相互作用，因此对昆虫的生命维持功能产生负面影响。总体而言，辣椒的CAPe提取物可能是一种有前景的环保型生物杀虫剂。
