The crop-residue of fiber hemp cv. Futura 75: from a waste product to a source of botanical insecticides.
In the attempt to exploit the potential of the monoecious fiber hemp cv. Futura 75 in new fields besides textile, cosmetics and food industry, its crop-residue given by leaves and inflorescences was subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain the essential oils. These are niche products representing an ideal candidate for the development of natural insecticides for the control and management of mosquito vectors, houseflies and moth pests. After GC-MS analysis highlighting a safe and legal chemical profile (THC in the range 0.004-0.012% dw), the leaf and inflorescence essential oils were investigated for the insecticidal potential against three insect targets: the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and Spodoptera littoralis and the adults of Musca domestica. The essential oil from inflorescences, showing (E)-caryophyllene (21.4%), myrcene (11.3%), cannabidiol (CBD, 11.1%), α-pinene (7.8%), terpinolene (7.6%), and α-humulene (7.1%) as the main components, was more effective than leaf oil against these insects, with LD50 values of 65.8 μg/larva on S. littoralis, 122.1 μg/adult on M. domestica, and LC50 of 124.5 μl/l on C. quinquefasciatus larvae. The hemp essential oil moderately inhibited the acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is a target enzyme in pesticide science. Overall, these results shed light on the future application of fiber hemp crop-residue for the development of effective, eco-friendly and sustainable insecticides.
['Benelli|Giovanni|G|', 'Pavela|Roman|R|', 'Lupidi|Giulio|G|', 'Nabissi|Massimo|M|', 'Petrelli|Riccardo|R|', 'Ngahang Kamte|Stephane L|SL|', 'Cappellacci|Loredana|L|', 'Fiorini|Dennis|D|', 'Sut|Stefania|S|', "Dall'Acqua|Stefano|S|", 'Maggi|Filippo|F|']
D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes D000475:Alkenes D000818:Animals D000081008:Bicyclic Monoterpenes D002188:Cannabis D003465:Culex D000081005:Cyclohexane Monoterpenes D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry D006793:Houseflies D007306:Insecticides D007814:Larva D000081222:Monocyclic Sesquiterpenes D039821:Monoterpenes D009822:Oils, Volatile D000081223:Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes D012717:Sesquiterpenes D018411:Spodoptera D013729:Terpenes D014866:Waste Products
Essential oil Culex quinquefasciatus Spodoptera littoralis Musca domestica Cannabis sativa Crop residue