Podophyllotoxin-derived insecticidal agents: Part XIII – Evaluation of insecticidal activity of podophyllotoxin derivatives against Brontispa longissima

Abstract

In an attempt to find the biorational insecticides for Brontispa longissima control, 12 podophyllotoxin (PPT) analogues were tested for their insecticidal activity against the fifth-instar larvae of B. longissima in vivo for the first time. Among all the tested compounds, especially compounds 6 and 8 showed more promising and pronounced insecticidal activity than toosendanin, a commercial insecticide derived from Melia azedarach. The different insecticidal activity range of compounds 1–12 indicated that the variation of chemical structures in the PPT skeleton markedly affected the activity profiles of this compound class, and some important structure–activity relationship information has been revealed. Together, these preliminary results may be useful in guiding further modification of PPTs in the development of potential new insecticides.

Keywords:

• podophyllotoxin
• insecticidal activity
• Brontispa longissima
• structure–activity relationships

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 30800720); the Post-Doctor Research Foundation (no. 20090450142); and the Interdisciplinary Innovation Research Foundation for Young Scholars, Lanzhou University (no. LZUJC2007018).