Nathanson J A
Science. 1984 Oct 12;226(4671):184-7. doi: 10.1126/science.6207592.
Natural and synthetic methylxanthines inhibit insect feeding and are pesticidal at concentrations known to occur in plants. These effects are due primarily to inhibition of phosphodiesterase activity and to an increase in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate. At lower concentrations, methylxanthines are potent synergists of other pesticides known to activate adenylate cyclase in insects. These data suggest that methylxanthines may function as natural insecticides and that phosphodiesterase inhibitors, alone or in combination with other compounds, may be useful in insect control.
天然和合成的甲基黄嘌呤可抑制昆虫取食，并且在植物中已知存在的浓度下具有杀虫作用。这些作用主要归因于磷酸二酯酶活性的抑制以及细胞内环状单磷酸腺苷的增加。在较低浓度下，甲基黄嘌呤是已知可激活昆虫腺苷酸环化酶的其他杀虫剂的有效增效剂。这些数据表明，甲基黄嘌呤可能作为天然杀虫剂发挥作用，并且磷酸二酯酶抑制剂单独或与其他化合物组合，可能在昆虫控制中有用。
