Limonoids are

phytochemicals Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extract, extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The field ...

of the

triterpenoid Triterpenes are a class of terpenes composed of six isoprene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of three terpene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squalene, the pre ...

class which are abundant in sweet or sour-scented

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

fruit and other plants of the families

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family (biology), family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, and

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...

. Certain limonoids are

antifeedant Antifeedants are organic compounds produced by plants to repel herbivores through distaste or toxicity. These chemical compounds are typically classified as secondary metabolites in that they are not essential for the metabolism of the plant, but ...

s such as azadirachtin from the

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

tree. Chemically, the limonoids consist of variations of the furanolactone core structure. The prototypical structure consists of four six-membered rings and a

furan Furan is a Heterocyclic compound, heterocyclic organic compound, consisting of a five-membered aromatic Ring (chemistry), ring with four carbon Atom, atoms and one oxygen atom. Chemical compounds containing such rings are also referred to as f ...

ring. Limonoids are classed as tetranortriterpenes.

Citrus

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

fruits contain the limonoids limonin, nomilin and nomilinic acid, while both neem seeds and leaves contain the limonoid azadirachtin, although higher concentrations are present in the former.

Chisocheton erythrocarpus

Eight previously unknown limonoids were identified via

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectro ...

in the fruits of '' Chisocheton erythrocarpus'' gathered in Malaysia. These compounds were dubbed erythrocarpines after the species epithet. The same study tested several preparations of ''C. erythrocarpus'' extract as larvicidal agent against ''

Aedes aegypti ''Aedes aegypti'' ( or from Greek 'hateful' and from Latin, meaning 'of Egypt'), sometimes called the Egyptian mosquito, dengue mosquito or yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that spreads diseases like dengue fever, yellow fever, malar ...

'' mosquitoes; they found that 1000 ppm of DCM extract resulted in 100% mortality of larva 24 hours after exposure.{{Cite journal , last=Ngadni , first=Muhammad Afiq , last2=Chong , first2=Soon-Lim , last3=Hazni , first3=Hazrina , last4=Asib , first4=Norhayu , last5=Ishak , first5=Intan Haslina , last6=Mohmad Misnan , first6=Norazlan , last7=Supratman , first7=Unang , last8=Awang , first8=Khalijah , date=2024-06-01 , title=Limonoids from the fruits of Chisocheton erythrocarpus and their mosquito larvicidal activities , url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031942224001298 , journal=Phytochemistry , volume=222 , pages=114092 , doi=10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.114092 , issn=0031-9422, url-access=subscription

References

Terpenes and terpenoids 3-Furyl compounds Lactones Epoxides Heterocyclic compounds with 6 rings

Citrus

Chisocheton erythrocarpus

See also

References