Posted by The increasing interest in organic agriculture, the growing resistance of pests against traditional pesticides and the demand for insecticides and repellents nontoxic to the nontarget organisms has led to the re-discovery of botanic pesticides: essential oils and their components such as carvacrol and linalool.
Recent Scientific Reports published the results of complexing these two pesticides with cyclodextrin grafted on chitosan nanoparticles. The formulations showed repellency, acaricidal and ovipositions activities agains mites (Tetranychus urticae) and worms (Helicoverpa armigera) and increased lifetime when exposed to the environment. The combined encapsulation of the monoterpenes (carvacrol and linalool) resulted in higher efficiency compared to the formulations containing only one of these two biopesticides at a time. No phytotoxicity was detected under laboratory conditions. The rapid initial release of the active ingredients was followed by a sustained release.
Campos, E.V.R., Proença, P.L.F., Oliveira, J.L., (…), De Andrade, D.J., Fraceto, L.F.
Chitosan nanoparticles functionalized with β-cyclodextrin: A promising carrier for botanical pesticides
Scientific Reports 2018, 8(1),2067
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20602-y
Campos, E.V.R., Proença, P.L.F., Oliveira, J.L., (…), Andrade, D.J., Fraceto, L.F.
Carvacrol and linalool co-loaded in β-cyclodextrin-grafted chitosan nanoparticles as sustainable biopesticide aiming pest control.
Scientific Reports 2018, 8(1), 7623