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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #278009
Title: Natural products as sources for new pesticides

Author
item Cantrell, Charles
item Dayan, Franck
item Duke, Stephen

Submitted to: Journal of Natural Products
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/22/2012
Publication Date: 6/22/2012
Citation: Cantrell, C.L., Dayan, F.E., Duke, S.O. 2012. Natural products as sources for new pesticides. Journal of Natural Products. 75(6):1231-1242.

Interpretive Summary: Natural products as pesticides have been reviewed from several perspectives in the past; however, no review has examined the impact of natural product and natural product-based pesticides, as a function of new active ingredient registrations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on the U.S. market. EPA registration details of new active ingredients for all conventional pesticide registrations and biopesticide registrations were compiled from the years 1997-2010. Conventional pesticide registrations and biopesticide registrations were examined both collectively and independently for all 277 new active ingredients (NAI) and subsequently categorized and sorted into four types; biological (B), natural product (NP), synthetic (S), and synthetic natural derived (SND). When examining conventional pesticides alone, S accounted for the majority of NAI registrations with 78.0 % followed by SND with 14.7 %, NP with 6.4 %, and B with 0.9 %. Biopesticides alone were dominated by NP’s with 54.8 % followed by B with 44.6 %, SND with 0.6 % and 0 % for S. When examining conventional pesticides and biopesticides combined, NP accounted for the majority of NAI registrations with 35.7 % followed by S with 30.7 %, B with 27.4 %, and SND with 6.1 %. Despite the common perception that natural products may not be the best source for NAI’s as pesticides, when you look at both conventional and biopesticides collectively, and consider that NP, SND, and B all have origins from natural product research, one could argue that their combined impact on NAI registrations with the EPA from 1997 to 2010 account for 69.3 % of said NAI’s.

Technical Abstract: Natural products as pesticides have been reviewed from several perspectives in the past; however, no review has examined the impact of natural product and natural product-based pesticides, as a function of new active ingredient registrations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on the U.S. market. EPA registration details of new active ingredients for all conventional pesticide registrations and biopesticide registrations were compiled from the years 1997-2010. Conventional pesticide registrations and biopesticide registrations were examined both collectively and independently for all 277 new active ingredients (NAI) and subsequently categorized and sorted into four types; biological (B), natural product (NP), synthetic (S), and synthetic natural derived (SND). When examining conventional pesticides alone, S accounted for the majority of NAI registrations with 78.0 % followed by SND with 14.7 %, NP with 6.4 %, and B with 0.9 %. Biopesticides alone were dominated by NP’s with 54.8 % followed by B with 44.6 %, SND with 0.6 % and 0 % for S. When examining conventional pesticides and biopesticides combined, NP accounted for the majority of NAI registrations with 35.7 % followed by S with 30.7 %, B with 27.4 %, and SND with 6.1 %. Despite the common perception that natural products may not be the best source for NAI’s as pesticides, when you look at both conventional and biopesticides collectively, and consider that NP, SND, and B all have origins from natural product research, one could argue that their combined impact on NAI registrations with the EPA from 1997 to 2010 account for 69.3 % of said NAI’s.