Semisynthesis of novel N-acyl/sulfonyl derivatives of 5 (3,5)-(di)halogenocytisines/cytisine and their pesticidal activities against Mythimna separata Walker, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval, and Sitobion avenae Fabricius.

BACKGROUND: To discover novel natural-product-based pesticidal agents for crop protection, a series of N-acyl/sulfonyl derivatives of 5 (3,5)-(di)halogenocytisines/cytisine were prepared by structural modifications of cytisine. Their pesticidal activities were evaluated against three typically crop-threatening agricultural pests, Mythimna separata Walker, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval, and Sitobion avenae Fabricius.

RESULTS: Compound 5f exhibited the promising pesticidal activities against three tested pests. All N-phenylsulfonylcytisine derivatives showed potent acaricidal activity. Compound 5j exhibited 2.5 folds more potent acaricidal activity than cytisine, and showed good control effect. Intermediates 2, and 3/3' displayed the pronounced aphicidal activity. Some interesting results of structure-activity relationships were also obtained.

CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that compounds 5f and 5j could be further modified as pesticidal agents. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.