Antifeedant activity of red clover root isoflavonoids on Hylastinus obscurus

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in investigating the impact of flavonoids on insects, specifically for pest control. In this study, we investigated the impact of isoflavonoids upon the feeding behavior of the clover root borer, Hylastinus obscurus Marsham (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), which is one of the most serious global pests associated with red clover, Trifolium pratense L. Four aglycones isoflavonoids: genistein (1), formononetin (2), daidzein (3) and biochanin A (4) were isolated and identified by HPLC, from roots of two Chilean red clover cultivars. The first two compounds, formononetin (2) and genistein (1), showed high feeding deterrent activity when they were evaluated in artificial diets. This antifeedant effect of isoflavones on feeding behavior of H. obscurus suggests that they are responsible for a decreasedin insect weight gain as compared with the control. This information could be useful respectively, to farmers and researcher to produce and create plants resistant to curculionid.