In Silico Bioinsecticidal Activity of Essential oils of Myrtus communis

In recent years, the use of essential oils (EOs) derived from aromatic plants as low-risk insecticides have increased considerably owing to their popularity with organic growers and environmentally conscious consumers. EOs are easily produced by steam distillation of plant material and contain many volatile, low-molecular-weight terpenes and phenolics. The major plants families from which EOs are extracted include Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, Lamiaceae, and Asteraceae. EOs have repellent, insecticidal, and growth-reducing effects on a variety of insects. They have been used effectively as insect repellents for biting flies and for home and garden insects. The compounds exert their activities on insects through neurotoxic effects involving several mechanisms, notably through GABA, octopamine synapses, and the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. With a few exceptions, their mammalian toxicity is low and environmental persistence is short [1]. Myrtus communis L., belongs to the Myrtaceae family, is a medicinal plant endemic to the Mediterranean area and it has been used by locals for its culinary and medicinal properties since antiquity [2]. The chemical composition of the Myrtus communis oil was examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major oil components were α-pinene, α- terpineol, linalool, 1, 8-cineole, geranyl butyrate and geraniol [3].This study was conducted to determine the insecticidal activity and mode of action of three major components of Myrtus communis oil (α-pinene, α- terpineol and linalool) on the acetylcholinesterase of malaria mosquito. The crystal structure of acetylcholinesterase (PDB entry 5X61) was obtained from the Protein Data Bank (http://www.rcsb.org./pdb). Molecular docking technique was performed to investigate the interactions. B3lyp/6-31g method was used to determine docking data such as binding energy (Kb) and inhibition constant (Ki) values. The results confirmed that essential oil of Myrtus communis L. could be used as a potential biocontrol agent for the repellent of insects.