Potential Insecticidal Activity of Steroidal C-17 Pyrazolinyl Derivatives

Agrochemical research, over the last two decades, has resulted in the discovery of chemically novel insecticides, of which steroids-based compounds that mimic the action of hormones have been considered as safe insecticides. In this study, eight steroidal C-17 pyrazolinyl derivatives were resynthesized through molecular hybridization and their insecticidal activities against 4^thinstar larvae of Mythimna separate were evaluated. These results showed that some compounds exhibited significant insecticidal activities and the susceptibility assays were expressed as the median lethal dose (LD₅₀), of which one of the compounds exerted the most potent insecticidal activity (LD₅₀ = 296 µg g^-1), comparable to that of the natural product insecticide, celangulatin V (LD₅₀ = 260 µg g^-1). This strategy led to a promising candidate for the development of new steroidal insecticidal agents.

steroid; progesterone; pyrazoline; insecticidal activity