An Evidence-Based Review on Medicinal Plants Used As Insecticide and Insect Repellent in Traditional Iranian Medicine
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Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2016 February;18(2): e22361. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.22361 Review Article Published online 2016 February 13. An Evidence-Based Review on Medicinal Plants Used as Insecticide and Insect Repellent in Traditional Iranian Medicine 1,2 3 Mina Cheraghi Niroumand, Mohammad Hosein Farzaei, Elahe Elahe Karimpour-Raz- 2 1,4 1,2,4 2,4,5 kenari, Gholamreza Amin, Mahnaz Khanavi, Tahmineh Akbarzadeh, and Moham- 1,2,4,* mad Reza Shams-Ardekani 1Department of Traditional Pharmacy, Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran 2Persian Medicine and Pharmacy Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran 3Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IR Iran 4Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran 5Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran *Corresponding Author : Mohammad Reza Shams-Ardekani, Persian Medicine and Pharmacy Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran. Tel/Fax: +98-9123443344, E-mail: [email protected] Received ; Revised ; Accepted 2014 August 5 2014 September 2 2014 September 28. Abstract Context: Insects can be the cause of major ecological problems; they can transmit microbes and parasites that affect humans, and damage food crops, trees, and homes. The total economic cost of insect-related damage and disease is immeasurable. In traditional Iranian medicine (TIM), several medicinal plants have been identified as insecticides or insect repellents, but many of them are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the insecticidal or insect repellent activity of certain medicinal plants described in TIM. Evidence Acquisition: Information about medicinal plants proposed as insecticides and insect repellents in the TIM was collected from the TIM literature, and searched in modern medical databases to find studies that confirmed their efficacy. Results: Allium sativum Artemisia Modern investigations have supported the claims of the insecticidal activity of several plants, including , absinthium Citrullus colocynthis Laurus nobilis Mentha pulegium Myrtus communis Nerium oleander Ocimum basilicum Origanum , , , , , , , and majorana Iris florentina Malva sylvestris . However, in the cases of plants like and , there is not enough evidence in modern medicine to prove their effectiveness with regard to their insecticidal and insect repellent activities. Conclusions: This study confirmed the Iranian traditional medicine claims of the insecticidal and insect repellent activity of certain plants. Further pharmacological and clinical studies are recommended to evaluate the overall efficacy and possible mechanisms underlying these herbs. Keywords: Medicinal Plants, Insecticide, Insect Repellent, Traditional Medicine 1. Context Insects have evolved into over one-million named source for insecticides is botanical, which can provide a species that occupy fundamental places in the world’s simple and sustainable method of insect control (2). ecosystems. However, some insects carry parasites and Herbal medicines have been used for thousands of microbes that affect humans through various diseases, years as sources of bioactive and therapeutic substances including malaria, Chagas’ disease, Lyme disease, bubon- with industrial and agricultural purposes (3, 4). Medici- ic plague, and dengue fever. They can also affect animals nal plants, and their derivatives or extracts, have been and damage food crops (locusts), trees (gypsy moths), evaluated for different pest control strategies, assess- and homes (termites). The total economic cost of insect- ing their toxic, lethal, repellent, antifeedant, fumigant, caused damage and disease is immeasurable; therefore, growth regulation, and deterrent effects on oviposition some genetically altered insect-resistant crops and vari- (5). Moreover, despite conventional insecticides, which ous insecticides have been developed to manage insects are based on a single active ingredient, botanical insec- and insect-related damage and disease (1). However the ticides containing mixtures of chemical compounds use of a wide range of synthetic insecticides has been can affect both behavioral and physiological processes. restricted recently, due to the high cost, harmful envi- Thus, the chance of pests developing resistance to such ronmental effects, their non-biodegradable nature, and substances is very low. It seems that seeking bio-insecti- increasing insecticidal resistance. An efficient alternative cides which are efficient, as well as being suitable and Copyright © 2016, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCom- mercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial us- ages, provided the original work is properly cited. Cheraghi Niroumand M et al. adaptive to ecological conditions, is essential in obtain- lated to the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of ing sufficient insect control (2). action of the plants are reviewed in Table 2. Overall, these Traditional Iranian medicine (TIM) is a reasonable scien- plants belong to 16 different families and, among them, tific resource, which encompasses unique information in Lamiaceae is represented by the greatest number of taxa order to prevent and treat diseases (6, 7). For this study, (4), followed by Apiaceae (2). the chapter entitled “Tard al Havam” in the Al Qanun Based on the traditional resources, insecticidal or insect Fil Tibb and the Alaghraz altabyh va almabahesololayee repellent plants have been used in various routes of ap- were completely reviewed, and all of the plants reported plication, including the crude plant, decoction, incense, as possessing insecticidal activity in the Makhzan Al Ad- powder, extract, embrocation, and local administration. vieh were studied (8-10). The TIM resources have divided the plants into two In the present research, those plants which showed in- groups: I) plants which exhibit a general anti-insect effect, secticidal and insect repellent activity in the TIM (8-10) and II) plants that act against a specific insect, like bees, were reviewed individually, and evidence of their pos- ants, mosquitoes, flies, moths, fleas, termites, and scorpi- sible efficacy in the literature was gathered. ons. According to the Iranian traditional texts, the plants had either insecticidal or insect repellent actions, whereas 2. Evidence Acquisition modern phytotherapy describes different mechanisms of action for these purposes. The biological mechanisms Several medicinal plants have been perceived to have of these plants were searched in the literature using the insecticidal and insect repellent properties in TIM. following terms: repellency, insecticidal, larvicidal, acari- Therefore the present review was conducted to verify cidal, ovicidal, adulticidal, oviposition, fumigant toxicity, the insecticidal activity of some of the medicinal plants arrestant, and antifeedant effects against insects. used frequently in TIM. The authors searched the TIM lit- Among the 20 studied plants, four of them showed erature for “medicinal plants,” “insecticide,” and “insect greater activity against insects, and the most active repellent.” Additionally, information from important plants are discussed below: TIM books was collected and added to scientific reports derived from modern medical databases like PubMed, 3.1. Allium sativum L. Scirus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Scopus. All of A. sativum the retrieved articles were published between 1997 and has demonstrated numerous insecticidal ac- 2014, and any in vitro, in vivo, or clinical evidence for ef- tivities on a wide range of insect spices; for example, its Delia radicum ficacy and pharmacological mechanisms related to the juice had insecticidal activity against and Musca domestica insecticidal and insect repellent properties of plants (11). Garlic extract has shown larvicidal Anopheles stephensi Culex quinquefas- were considered for inclusion. Those studies chosen for effects against and ciatus inclusion in this review revealed either the apparent ben- mosquitoes (12), and acaricidal activity against Tetranychus cinnabarinus eficial function of these remedies or demonstrated their (13). In addition, the extract of effectiveness indirectly on the mechanisms involved in cloves has shown larvicidal activity against the eggs, lar- Callosobruchus maculatus insecticidal and insect repellent activity. Only published vae, and adults of (14). Essential Culex pipiens articles written in English were included in this review. oil bulbs exhibited larvicidal activity against Camptomyia corticalis The search terms included “insecticide” or “insect repel- (15), fumigant toxicity against (16), Lycoriella lent” in the title and abstract, and the name of each men- insecticidal and larvicidal potential against ingenue tioned plant in the whole text. The primary search results (17), and acaricidal properties against all stages Boophilus annulatus were evaluated by 2 independent investigators. Those of (18). Moreover, the leaf (ASAI) and A. sativum articles in languages other than English, review studies, bulb (ASAII) agglutinins from exhibited insec- Spodoptera papers that evaluated a mixture of the plant with