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From the second half of the XX century, the
agricultural modernization has focused on using new

techniques which aim to increase the food production
for the ever-growing human population (Iannacone et
al., 2005). The increase on the food production is
owned to the scientific breakthroughs and
technological innovations which include developing
new plant varieties, the increase of irrigation facilities
and the use of fertilizers and pesticides (Gliessman,
2002). The use of the monoculture has brought as a
consequence, the use of synthetic insecticides, which
reduce the biodiversity of agroecosystems, provoking
their instability (Gliessman, op. cit.) and cause harmful
effects, such as: environmental pollution, human
health issues (Hilje, 2001), insect resistance to
pesticides (Denholm et al., 1998), natural pest
predators (Aggarwal and Brar, 2006), parasitoids
(Iannacone and Lamas, 2003) and pollinators
(Desneux et al., 2007) loss.
As a consequence of these environmental security and
health issues (Karunamoorthi et al., 2008), nowadays,

new strategies for pest insects control which are less
hazardous and more environmentally friendly are
searched for; such as the use of plant extracts, one of
the most attractive methods for this aim (Salvadores et

al., 2007).
The practice of using plant extracts in agriculture for
pest control is not new; it has been used for at least

two millennia, when botanical insecticides were
considered important products for pest management in
Ancient China (Long et al., 2006), Egypt, Greece and
India (Isman, 2006). Even in the United States and
some European countries, botanical insecticides were
predominantly used, before the discovery of
organochlorated and organophosphorated insecticides
in the late 1930s and early 1940s (Isman, 1997).
In the last 30 years, there has been an increasing
research on plant extracts (Clemente et al., 2003), due

to the numerous problems that synthetic insecticides
cause; leading to what could be considered a second
era of the botanical insecticides (Silva et al., 2002).
The plants that present biological activity against
insects owe this feature to the presence of secondary

metabolites (Garca et al., 2004), some of which have
been widely investigated (lvarez et al., 2007;
Salvadores et al., 2007; Chandra et al., 2008). The
process of knowing and obtaining secondary

metabolites against insects is by means of plant
extracts, which can have variations; sometimes
aqueous extracts can be obtained (Bobadilla et al.,
2005), solvents can be used to obtain different
compounds depending on their polarity (Bobadilla et
al., 2002), essential oils can also be obtained (Prez et
al., 2004), or dehydrated plant parts to be used as
powders (Silva et al., 2003).
Secondary metabolites feature several properties
against insects, like insecticidal activity (Cavalacante

et al., 2006), considered as that substance or mixture
of substances that exert biocide action due to the
nature of their chemical structure (Celis et al., 2008).
However, most of the plants used against insects have
an insectistatic effect, rather than insecticidal. This
refers to the inhibition of the insects development and
behavior (Celis et al., 2008), and it is divided into:
Repellence (Viglianco et al., 2006), anti-feeding
activity (Eriksson et al., 2008), growth regulation
(Wheeler and Isman, 2001), feed deterrents (Koul,
2004), and oviposition deterrents (Banchio et al.,
2003).
Repellent activity is presented in plants that have
compounds with fowling odor or irritating effects,

which cause insects to get away from them (Peterson y
Coats, 2001). Anti-feeding activity is exerted by
compounds that once ingested by the insect, causes it
to stop feeding and eventually die of starvation (Isman,
2006). Growth regulating compounds inhibit
metamorphosis or provoke precocious molting. They
alter the growth regulating hormones and cause
malformations, sterility or death in insects (Celis et al.,
2008).
To the present, there are more than 2000 plant species
known to have insecticidal properties, where the

Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Labiatae, Fabaceae,
Meliaceae and Solanaceae families stand out (Garca
et al., 2004). Among the metabolites with biological
activities against insects, flavonoids, terpenoids,
alkaloids, steroids and phenols stand out (Orozco et
al., 2006).
Three plant families that draw attention as promising
sources of insecticidal compounds are: Annonaceae,

Solanaceae and Meliaceae. These families have been
selected to be studied for the following reasons: 1)
they possess different chemical groups for insect

control; 2) they are common families in the tropics and
are cultivated in various regions; 3) there is research
that have shown biological activity against insects and
are highlighted as potential plants for their use in the
tropics.
The objective of the present work is to revise literature
on different plant extracts from the Annonaceae,

Meliaceae and Solanaceae families, the compounds or
mixtures of compounds obtained as well as their
modes of action against insects.
The Annonaceae family has drawn a lot of attention
since the 1980s, due to the presence of acetogenins, of

which their structural characteristics feature a variety
of biological activities, where the insecticidal activity
stands out (Ocampo and Ocampo, 2006).
Among the Annona genus, two species stand out for
their insecticidal properties, Annona muricata L. and

Annona squamosa L. the acetogenines found in A.
muricata include: annocatalin, annohexocin,
annomonicin, annomontacin, annomuricatin,
annomuricin, annonacin, coronin, corossolin,
corossolone, gigantetrocin, gigantetronenin,

montanancin, muracin, muricatalicin, muricin,
robustosin, solamin, squamocin, uvariamicin, among
others (Raintree Nutrition, 2004).
Regarding their structure, the acetogenins comprise a
series of natural products C-35/C-37 derived from C32/C-34 fatty acids combined with a 2-propanol unit
(Alali et al., 1999). The acetogenins are found in
leaves, branches and mostly in seeds of annonaceous
plants, and A. muricata has been the most widely
studied species (Table 1). From the wide variety of
acetogenins, squamocin and annonacin have shown the
highest impact on insects (lvarez et al., 2008).
Acetogenins block the respiratory chain at NADH
ubiquinone reductase (Complex I) and cause a

decrease in ATP levels, affecting directly the electron
transport in the mitochondria, causing apoptosis (Alali,
et al., 1999). The annonaceous extracts have been
evaluated in several groups of insects of both medical
and agricultural importance. Among the agricultural
pests, chewing insects like Lepidoptera larvae
(Laetamia e Isman, 2004; lvarez et al., 2007), and
sap sucking like Myzus persicae S. (Guadao et al.,
2000) can be found. Among the human health related

insects, blood sucking insects can be found, such as
the Aedes aegypti L, mosquito, dengue fever and
yellow fever vector in tropical areas (Domnguez et
al., 2003; Bobadilla et al., 2005).
The solvents used for extracting acetogenins are
varied such as: water (Prez-Pacheco et al., 2004),

ethanol (Bobadilla et al., 2002), acetone
(Khalequzzaman and Sultana, 2006), chloroform
(Parvin et al., 2003), petroleum ether (Alvarez et al.,
2008) and hexane (Fontana et al., 1998). From this
information, it can be inferred that acetogenins can
range from very polar, such as those extracted by
water and ethanol, to non polar, which are extracted by
hexane; however, if a rational management of natural
products is desired, it is recommended the use of the
more polar extracts (Bobadilla et al., 2005).
The extracts have been dissolved with acetone
(Khalequzzaman and Sultana, 2006) and distilled

water (Prez Pacheco et al., 2004); although they can
be dissolved with other substances such as
dichloromethane, dimethyl sulfoxide, ethanol or
Tween 20. The criteria for choosing the solvent is
focused on the least negative effect over the studied

organism, obtaining thus an adequate for the plant
extracts or secondary metabolites to be evaluated
(Carvalho, 2008).
Plant alkaloids have been found to affect

physiological systems in higher animals as well
as in insects (Saxena and Tikku 1990). Schneider
et al. (1982) have mentioned that these
compounds in general are very toxic to insects
and can be used as insecticides.
Some plants known to contain toxic principles
can play a useful role in the control of vectors.
A variety of plant species of different families
have been reported to exhibit insecticidal and
other biological activities (Jotwani and Srivastava
1981, Banerji et al. 1985, Kalyanasundaram
and Das 1985, Saxena and Sumithra 1985,
Chavan and Nikam 1988, Saxena and Saxena
1992, Saxena et al. 1992).
Since, Annond squan'Losa (Family Annonaceae)
extracts have shown insecticidal activity
against stored grain insects (Dixit 19921), we
deemed it appropriate to study the larvicidal
and chemosterilant activity of A. squamosa alkaloids
against Anopheles stephensi Liston, an

important urban vector of malaria in India.

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From the second half of the XX century, the

agricultural modernization has focused on using new

As a consequence of these environmental security and

health issues (Karunamoorthi et al., 2008), nowadays,

the most attractive methods for this aim (Salvadores et

The practice of using plant extracts in agriculture for

pest control is not new; it has been used for at least

In the last 30 years, there has been an increasing

research on plant extracts (Clemente et al., 2003), due

The plants that present biological activity against

insects owe this feature to the presence of secondary

process of knowing and obtaining secondary

Secondary metabolites feature several properties

against insects, like insecticidal activity (Cavalacante

Repellent activity is presented in plants that have

compounds with fowling odor or irritating effects,

To the present, there are more than 2000 plant species

known to have insecticidal properties, where the

Three plant families that draw attention as promising

sources of insecticidal compounds are: Annonaceae,

they possess different chemical groups for insect

The objective of the present work is to revise literature

on different plant extracts from the Annonaceae,

The Annonaceae family has drawn a lot of attention

since the 1980s, due to the presence of acetogenins, of

Among the Annona genus, two species stand out for

their insecticidal properties, Annona muricata L. and

corossolone, gigantetrocin, gigantetronenin,

Regarding their structure, the acetogenins comprise a

Acetogenins block the respiratory chain at NADH

ubiquinone reductase (Complex I) and cause a

2000) can be found. Among the human health related

The solvents used for extracting acetogenins are

varied such as: water (Prez-Pacheco et al., 2004),

The extracts have been dissolved with acetone

(Khalequzzaman and Sultana, 2006) and distilled

focused on the least negative effect over the studied

Plant alkaloids have been found to affect

against Anopheles stephensi Liston, an

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