Shabnam Javed1*, Sehar Jaffer1, Nimra1, Shaista Taimur2
1Department of Organic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
2Department of Chemistry, University of Wah, Wah, Pakistan
*For Correspondence
shabnam.chem@pu.edu.pk
Essential oil is considered to be
the best alternative approach as natural pesticide against various noxious
weeds, pathogens and agricultural pests that damage crops. The global annual
use of pesticides on crops is estimated approximately to be 2.5 million tons
annually producing the global $100 billion harms. Excessive use of synthetic
pesticides is the main cause of environmental problems due to their toxic and
non-biodegradable residue which ultimately affect the humans and mammals.
Now-a-day scientists are shifting toward green pesticides in which they are
using plant products comprising of essential oil as an alternative means
against synthetic pesticides. Essential oil extracted from plants by performing
different extraction techniques are rich source of bioactive compounds still
safe for human and other organisms. Essential oil components are classified
into two categories: hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds. Hydrocarbons mainly
consist of terpenes such as monoterpenes, diterpenes and sesquiterpenes. While
oxygenated compounds are mainly comprised of phenols, alcohols, aldehydes,
ketones, oxides and esters. Essential oil phenolic compounds include vanillic
acid, carvacrol, carnosol, thymol, eugenol and chavicol etc. Among these,
phenolic compound thymol and carvacrol disrupt the cell membrane of insects
resulting in reduced permeability. Phenols, alcohols and aldehydes are
oxygenated bioactive compounds of essential oil that possess strong toxicity
against various pathogens. Various research indicated that essential oils
containing bioactive components offer anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties
against toxic bacteria and fungi. Essential oil due to their phenolic
components can perform various functions as bio-pesticide, bio-fertilizer and
can result in crop protection against various pathogens with safe environmental
impact rather than synthetic alternates.
Keywords
Essential Oil, Phenolic Components, Herbicide, Bio-pesticide, Anti-microbial, Green Pesticide
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