The management of parasites, insect pests and vectors requests development of novel, effective and eco-friendly tools. The development of resistance towards many drugs and pesticides pushed scientists to look for novel bioactive compounds endowed with multiple modes of action, and with no risk to human health and environment. Several natural products are used as alternative/complementary approaches to manage parasites, insect pests and vectors due to their high efficacy and often limited non-target toxicity. Their encapsulation into nanosystems helps overcome some hurdles related to their physicochemical properties, for instance limited stability and handling, enhancing the overall efficacy. Among different nanosystems, micro- and nanoemulsions are easy-to-use systems in terms of preparation and industrial scale-up. Different reports support their efficacy against parasites of medical importance, including Leishmania, Plasmodium and Trypanosoma as well as agricultural and stored product insect pests and vectors of human diseases, such as Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. Overall, micro- and nanoemulsions are valid options for developing promising eco-friendly tools in pest and vector management, pending proper field validation. Future research on the improvement of technical aspects as well as chronic toxicity experiments on non-target species is needed.

• Keywords
• agricultural pests, dengue, filariasis, insecticides, larvicides, mosquito control, stored product insects,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

Developing effective and eco-friendly antiparasitic drugs and insecticides is an issue of high importance nowadays. In this study, we evaluated the anthelminthic and insecticidal potential of the leaf essential oil obtained from Origanum syriacum against the L3 larvae of the parasitic nematode Anisakis simplex and larvae and adults of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. Tests on A. simplex were performed by standard larvicidal and penetration assays, while mosquito toxicity was assessed relying on larvicidal, tarsal contact, and fumigation tests. To shed light on the possible mode of action, we analyzed the oil impact as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. This oil was particularly active on L3 larvae of A. simplex, showing a LC50 of 0.087 and 0.067 mg mL-1 after 24 and 48 h treatment, respectively. O. syriacum essential oil was highly effective on both larvae and adults of C. quinquefasciatus, showing LC50 values of 32.4 mg L-1 and 28.1 µg cm-2, respectively. Its main constituent, carvacrol, achieved larvicidal LC50(90) of 29.5 and 39.2 mg L-1, while contact toxicity assays on adults had an LC50(90) of 25.5 and 35.8 µg cm-2, respectively. In fumigation assays, the LC50 was 12.1 µL L-1 after 1 h and decreased to 1.3 µL L-1 in 24 h of exposure. Similarly, the fumigation LC50 of carvacrol was 8.2 µL L-1 after 1 h of exposure, strongly decreasing to 0.8 µL L-1 after 24 h of exposure. These results support the folk usage of Lebanese oregano as an antiparasitic agent, providing new insights about its utilization for developing new effective and eco-friendly nematocidal and insecticidal products.

• Keywords
• anisakiasis, contact toxicity, enzyme inhibition, fumigation toxicity, larvicide, mosquito control, penetration assay,
• MeSH
• Anisakis drug effects   MeSH
• Cholinesterase Inhibitors chemistry   pharmacology   MeSH
• Culex drug effects   MeSH
• Cymenes pharmacology   MeSH
• Origanum chemistry   MeSH
• Mosquito Vectors drug effects   MeSH
• Larva drug effects   MeSH
• Plant Leaves chemistry   MeSH
• Oils, Volatile chemistry   pharmacology   MeSH
• Plant Oils chemistry   pharmacology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• carvacrol MeSH Browser
• Cholinesterase Inhibitors MeSH
• Cymenes MeSH
• Oils, Volatile MeSH
• Plant Oils MeSH

In the attempt to exploit the potential of the monoecious fiber hemp cv. Futura 75 in new fields besides textile, cosmetics and food industry, its crop-residue given by leaves and inflorescences was subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain the essential oils. These are niche products representing an ideal candidate for the development of natural insecticides for the control and management of mosquito vectors, houseflies and moth pests. After GC-MS analysis highlighting a safe and legal chemical profile (THC in the range 0.004-0.012% dw), the leaf and inflorescence essential oils were investigated for the insecticidal potential against three insect targets: the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and Spodoptera littoralis and the adults of Musca domestica. The essential oil from inflorescences, showing (E)-caryophyllene (21.4%), myrcene (11.3%), cannabidiol (CBD, 11.1%), α-pinene (7.8%), terpinolene (7.6%), and α-humulene (7.1%) as the main components, was more effective than leaf oil against these insects, with LD50 values of 65.8 μg/larva on S. littoralis, 122.1 μg/adult on M. domestica, and LC50 of 124.5 μl/l on C. quinquefasciatus larvae. The hemp essential oil moderately inhibited the acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is a target enzyme in pesticide science. Overall, these results shed light on the future application of fiber hemp crop-residue for the development of effective, eco-friendly and sustainable insecticides.

• Keywords
• Cannabis sativa, Crop residue, Culex quinquefasciatus, Essential oil, Musca domestica, Spodoptera littoralis,
• MeSH
• Acyclic Monoterpenes MeSH
• Alkenes chemistry   MeSH
• Bicyclic Monoterpenes MeSH
• Cannabis chemistry   MeSH
• Culex drug effects   MeSH
• Insecticides chemistry   MeSH
• Larva drug effects   MeSH
• Monocyclic Sesquiterpenes MeSH
• Cyclohexane Monoterpenes MeSH
• Monoterpenes chemistry   MeSH
• Houseflies chemistry   MeSH
• Waste Products MeSH
• Oils, Volatile chemistry   MeSH
• Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry MeSH
• Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes MeSH
• Sesquiterpenes chemistry   MeSH
• Spodoptera drug effects   MeSH
• Terpenes chemistry   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Acyclic Monoterpenes MeSH
• Alkenes MeSH
• alpha-pinene MeSH Browser
• Bicyclic Monoterpenes MeSH
• caryophyllene MeSH Browser
• humulene MeSH Browser
• Insecticides MeSH
• Monocyclic Sesquiterpenes MeSH
• Cyclohexane Monoterpenes MeSH
• Monoterpenes MeSH
• myrcene MeSH Browser
• Waste Products MeSH
• Oils, Volatile MeSH
• Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes MeSH
• Sesquiterpenes MeSH
• Terpenes MeSH
• terpinolene MeSH Browser

The rapid spread of highly aggressive arboviruses, parasites, and bacteria along with the development of resistance in the pathogens and parasites, as well as in their arthropod vectors, represents a huge challenge in modern parasitology and tropical medicine. Eco-friendly vector control programs are crucial to fight, besides malaria, the spread of dengue, West Nile, chikungunya, and Zika virus, as well as other arboviruses such as St. Louis encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis. However, research efforts on the control of mosquito vectors are experiencing a serious lack of eco-friendly and highly effective pesticides, as well as the limited success of most biocontrol tools currently applied. Most importantly, a cooperative interface between the two disciplines is still lacking. To face this challenge, we have reviewed a wide number of promising results in the field of green-fabricated pesticides tested against mosquito vectors, outlining several examples of synergy with classic biological control tools. The non-target effects of green-fabricated nanopesticides, including acute toxicity, genotoxicity, and impact on behavioral traits of mosquito predators, have been critically discussed. In the final section, we have identified several key challenges at the interface between "green" nanotechnology and classic biological control, which deserve further research attention.

• Keywords
• Arbovirus, Biosafety, Dengue, Genotoxicity, Japanese encephalitis, Malaria, Nanosynthesis, West Nile virus, Zika virus,
• MeSH
• Dengue MeSH
• Insect Vectors drug effects   MeSH
• Zika Virus Infection microbiology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Malaria MeSH
• Mosquito Control * methods   MeSH
• One Health MeSH
• Zika Virus MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH