Insecticidal and fungicidal efficacy of essential oils and nanoencapsulation approaches for the development of next generation ecofriendly green preservatives for management of stored food commodities: an overview

Abstract

To date, several synthetic preservatives have been used for management of food losses caused by insect and fungal pathogens, however, development of resistant races and adverse effects on environment have limited their applicability. Currently, essential oils and their bioactive components are well acknowledged for control of insects. Insecticidal and antifungal efficacy of essential oils are reported to result from neurotoxic mechanisms like alteration in octopamine receptors, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) ion channels, inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activities in insects and dysfunctioning of mitochondria as well as plasma membrane in fungal pathogens. Nanoencapsulation of essential oils is currently under practice to prevent environmental degradation, enhance insecticidal and fungicidal efficacy with wide commercial applications and recommend them for possible industrial utilization. The present review explores i) insecticidal and fungicidal efficacy of essential oils and bioactive components, ii) their possible mode of action, iii) the employment of modern nanoencapsulation approaches for the development of nontoxic and ecofriendly green insecticides/fungicides, and most importantly iv) patenting of developed plant based nanoformulation with desired application in management of stored products biodeterioration.

Keywords:

• Essential oil
• insecticidal efficacy
• nanoencapsulation
• lipid peroxidation
• acetylcholine esterase activity
• neurotoxicity

Acknowledgments

Somenath Das is thankful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [File No.: 09/013(0774)/2018-EMR-I], New Delhi, India, for research fellowship. Authors are also grateful to Head and Coordinator of Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, India for providing necessary facilities.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Data deposition

Not applicable.

Consent to publish

I confirm that any participants, who may be identifiable through the manuscript, have been given an opportunity to review the final manuscript.

Ethics decleration

This is an observational study, no ethical approval is required.

Geolocation information

Covers worldwide insects and fungal pathogens control

Authors’ contribution

The idea and concept of the review article was given by Somenath Das and wrote the original manuscript. Vipin Kumar Singh and Abhishek Kumar Dwivedy edited the written manuscript. Anand Kumar Chaudhari performed the review of literature. Nawal Kishore Dubey critically reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are cited in manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [File No.: 09/013(0774)/2018-EMR-I], New Delhi, India.