Eur. J. Entomol. 96 (4): 347-353, 1999

Plumbagin and azadirachtin deplete hemolymph ecdysteroid levels and alter the activity profiles of two lysosomal enzymes in the fat body of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

JOSEPHRAJKUMAR A., SUBRAHMANYAM B.*, SRINIVASAN S.
Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, 110 012 New Delhi, India; e-mail: bsub_ent@iari.ernet.in

The profile of hemolymph ecdysteroid was studied in the gram pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, during larval-pupal transformation. The changes closely correspond to the developmental events occurring at metamorphosis. Two insect growth regulators, plumbagin and azadirachtin, significantly depleted the content and altered the profile of ecdysteroids at crucial stages, when applied at ED50 doses. The activity profiles of two fat body lysosomal enzymes, acid phosphatase and b-galactosidase, were also significantly affected by the insect growth regulators. It is suggested that plumbagin and azadirachtin treatments primarily modify the ecdysteroid titer, which in turn leads to changes in lysosomal enzyme activity causing overt morphological abnormalities during the metamorphic molt.

Keywords: Plumbagin, azadirachtin, ecdysteroid, acid phosphatase, b-galactosidase, hemolymph, fat body, Noctuidae, Helicoverpa armigera

Received: August 24, 1998; Accepted: December 1, 1998; Published: December 20, 1999  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
JOSEPHRAJKUMAR, A., SUBRAHMANYAM, B.<., & SRINIVASAN, S. (1999). Plumbagin and azadirachtin deplete hemolymph ecdysteroid levels and alter the activity profiles of two lysosomal enzymes in the fat body of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). EJE96(4), 347-353
Download citation

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.