Journal ArticleDOI
Plant-insect coevolution and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase.
M. F. Ryan,Oonagh Byrne +1 more
TLDR
Data suggest the involvement of acetylcholinesterase in the coevolved insect response to terpenoids, as well as a range of functional groups, that were reversible competitive inhibitors apparently occupying at least the hydrophobic site of the enzyme's active center.Abstract:
The theory of plant-insect coevolution provides for diffuse coevolution and the expectation that plants evolve broad-spectrum chemical defenses with which some insects coevolve by detoxifying and using the compounds as host-location cues. Specific biochemical modes of action have been assigned to relatively few such defense chemicals and one major class, the terpenoids, is investigated here. Six terpenoids inhibited the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (derived from electric eel) and elicited the appropriate in vivo effects of insect paralysis and mortality. The diterpene gossypol was a reversible uncompetitive inhibitor. Five monoterpenes, representing a range of functional groups, were reversible competitive inhibitors apparently occupying at least the hydrophobic site of the enzyme's active center. Such data suggest the involvement of acetylcholinesterase in the coevolved insect response to terpenoids.read more
Citations
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Mechanism of action of insecticidal secondary metabolites of plant origin
TL;DR: The phytochemical biomolecules could be used for maximizing the effectiveness and specificity in future insecticide design with specific or multiple target sites, while ensuring the economic and ecological sustainability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Essential oils for the development of eco-friendly mosquito larvicides: A review
TL;DR: This review evaluated the current research on using EOs as potential larvicides based on their chemical composition and biological efficacy, and found that more than 2/3 of the plants were from only 5 families: Lamiaceae, Cupressaceae, Rutaceae, Apiaceae, and Myrtaceae.
Journal ArticleDOI
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from plants and fungi
TL;DR: 183 compounds obtained from plants and fungi which have been shown to inhibit acetylcholinesterase are described, mainly alkaloids although some meroterpenoids from fungi have also been found to be active and display better selectivity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Activation of octopaminergic receptors by essential oil constituents isolated from aromatic plants: possible mode of action against insect pests.
TL;DR: The intracellular response was found to resemble closely the significant increases in the levels of the cyclic AMP of abdominal epidermal tissue due to treatment with the neurotransmitter/neuromodulator, octopamine, indicating possible competitive activation of octopaminergic receptors by essential oil constituents.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plants used in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine for improvement of memory and cognitive function.
TL;DR: Plants and their constituents with pharmacological activities that may be relevant for the treatment of cognitive disorders, including enhancement of cholinergic function in the central nervous system (CNS), anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, are discussed.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
A new and rapid colorimetric determination of acetylcholinesterase activity.
TL;DR: A photometric method for determining acetylcholinesterase activity of tissue extracts, homogenates, cell suspensions, etc., has been described and Kinetic constants determined by this system for erythrocyte eholinesterases are presented.
Journal ArticleDOI
A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide
TL;DR: In order to make experimental studies comparable and statistically meaningful, the article recommends the following formula: per cent control = 100(X - Y)/X, which eliminates errors due to deaths in the control sample which were not due to the insecticide.
Book
The Insect Societies
TL;DR: In this article, a definitive study of the social structure and symbiotic relationships of termites, social wasps, bees, and ants was conducted. But the authors focused on the relationship between ants and termites.
Journal ArticleDOI
Butterflies and plants: a study in coevolution
Paul R. Ehrlich,Peter H. Raven +1 more
TL;DR: The relationship between butterflies and their food plants is investigated, the examination of patterns of interaction between two major groups of organisms with a close and evident ecological relationship, such as plants and herbivores.
Journal ArticleDOI
Allelochemics: Chemical Interactions between Species
Robert H. Whittaker,Paul Feeny +1 more