Chemical composition, pesticidal activities and in-silico investigation of Hedychium spicatum Sm. chloroform extract

The present study aimed to identify the bioactive constituents in the chloroform extract of H. spicatum rhizomes (HS-RCLE), further evaluated for its in-vitro pesticidal activities validating via molecular docking techniques. GC/MS analysis of HSRCLE identified 14 compounds contributing 84.1 % of the total composition. The extract was dominated by oxygenated sesquiterpenes (43.1 %) with curcumenone (25.2 %) and coronarin E (14.8 %) as the major compounds. The extract recorded 89.4 % egg hatchability inhibition and 82.6 % immobility of Meloidogyne incognita, 66.7 % insecticidal activity on Spodoptera litura, 100 % phytotoxic activity on Raphanus raphanistrum seeds, and 74.7 % anti-fungal activity on Curvularia lunata at the respective highest dose studied. The biological activities were furthermore validated by using docking studies on certain proteins/enzymes namely acetylcholinesterase (PBD ID: IC2O), carboxylesterase (PDB ID: 1CI8), acetohydroxyacid synthase (PBD ID: 1YHZ) and trihydroxy naphthalene reductase (PBD ID: 3HNR). The bioactivity of the major constituents of the extract was predicted with the help of in silico PASS studies. HS-RCLE was observed to be a viable alternative source of natural pesticidal agents and paves the way for further studies on its mechanistic approaches and field trials to ascertain its pesticidal studies.

Automated summary

The study identified the active constituents in the chloroform extract of H. spicatum rhizomes (HS-RCLE) and validated its in-vitro pesticidal activities using molecular docking techniques. GC/MS analysis revealed 14 compounds, contributing to 84.1% of the total composition, with oxygenated sesquiterpenes as the dominant compounds. The extract showed significant inhibition of egg hatchability, immobility of Meloidogyne incognita, insecticidal activity on Spodoptera litura, phytotoxic activity on Raphanus raphanistrum seeds, and anti-fungal activity on Curvularia lunata.