Abstract

There is an urgent need for the development of sustainable and eco-friendly pesticide formulations since common synthetic pesticides result in many adverse effects on human health and the environment. Essential oils (EOs) are a mixture of volatile oils produced as a secondary metabolite in medicinal plants, and show activities against pests, insects, and pathogenic fungi. Their chemical composition is affected by several factors such as plant species or cultivar, geographical origin, environmental conditions, agricultural practices, and extraction method. The growing number of studies related to the herbicidal, insecticidal, acaricidal, nematicidal, and antimicrobial effects of EOs demonstrate their effectiveness and suitability as sustainable and environment-friendly biopesticides. EOs can biodegrade into nontoxic compounds; at the same time, their harmful and detrimental effects on non-target organisms are low. However, few biopesticide formulations based on EOs have been turned into commercial practice upto day. Several challenges including the reduced stability and efficiency of EOs under environmental conditions need to be addressed before EOs are widely applied as commercial biopesticides. This work is an overview of the current research on the application of EOs as biopesticides. Findings of recent studies focusing on the challenges related to the use of EOs as biopesticides are also discussed.

摘要

由于常见的合成农药会对人类健康和环境造成许多不利影响，因此迫切需要开发可持续且生态友好的农药制剂。精油 (EO) 是挥发油的混合物，作为药用植物的次级代谢产物产生，对害虫、昆虫和病原真菌具有活性。它们的化学成分受植物种类或栽培品种、地理来源、环境条件、农业实践和提取方法等多种因素的影响。越来越多的与 EO 的除草、杀虫、杀螨、杀线虫和抗菌作用相关的研究证明了它们作为可持续和环境友好型生物农药的有效性和适用性。EO 可以生物降解为无毒化合物；同时，它们对非目标生物的有害和不利影响很低。然而，迄今为止，很少有基于 EO 的生物农药制剂已转化为商业实践。在 EO 作为商业生物农药广泛应用之前，需要解决一些挑战，包括 EO 在环境条件下稳定性和效率降低。这项工作是对 EO 作为生物农药应用的当前研究的概述。还讨论了最近关注与使用 EO 作为生物农药相关的挑战的研究结果。在 EO 作为商业生物农药广泛应用之前，需要解决一些挑战，包括 EO 在环境条件下稳定性和效率降低。这项工作是对 EO 作为生物农药应用的当前研究的概述。还讨论了最近关注与使用 EO 作为生物农药相关的挑战的研究结果。在 EO 作为商业生物农药广泛应用之前，需要解决一些挑战，包括 EO 在环境条件下稳定性和效率降低。这项工作是对 EO 作为生物农药应用的当前研究的概述。还讨论了最近关注与使用 EO 作为生物农药相关的挑战的研究结果。