Chrysanthemum species

There are thousands of kinds of natural pesticides. Plants have been engaged for millions of years in chemical warfare with predators, most of which are insects. They have evolved a wide variety of complex protective mechanisms, many of which are toxic chemicals. Humans have probably known for a very long time that natural products such as uicotiue from tobacco, turpentine from pines, pyrethrum from chrysanthemum species, and quinine from cinchona bark can provide protection from pests and parasites. Our diet contains a large number of such chemicals but ordinarily we have mechanisms to detoxify or excrete them so that they are not a problem. 

Chrysanthemol from the leaves of Artemisia ludiviciana (Asteraceae) belongs to the cyclopropane monoterpenes Cinerins, jasmolins and pyrethrins (all including derivatives 1 and 11) are esters of /rara-chrysanthemic and pyrethric acid with terpenoid hydroxypentenones such as cinerolone, jasmolone and pyrethrolone. These are the active insecticidal constituents of pyrethrum recovered from dried flowers of several Chrysanthemum species (e.g. Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium, Asteraceae). Some synthetic esters of chrysanthemic acid are also applied as insecticides. 

A number of plant sterols have been reported to possess growth-regulating activity and developmental modification properties in plants (Heftman, 1975a, 1975b, Mandava, 1979). For example, -sitosterol (4) initiates flower buds in Chrysanthemum species exogenously applied lanosterol (15) (not a plant product) also stimulates flowering in these plants. Estrone (oestrone) (21) and related compounds are... 

By analogy with this type of intramolecular addition, the 3-lactone, capillarin (LXII) (Harada et al., i960 Bohlmann and Kleine, 1962b) might be visualized as arising from a structure related to frutescin (LXIII). Both of these compounds were isolated from the same chrysanthemum species (Bohlmann and Kleine, 1962 a, b). 

A monoterpene, constituent of an essential oil from the wood of Cinnamomum camphora which provides exclusively a dextrorotatory camphor both isomers may be found in several Chrysanthemum species. 

Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium (1) is a species of white flower and contains more insecticidal ingredients than other species. This pyrethrum species originated from Dalmatia and has been used for cultivation. On the other hand, the origin of Roseum (2) is Persia and the Caucasus. It has beautiful red flowers but its pyrethrin content is extremely low compared to (1). Known as red-flowered pyrethrum, it is used merely as an ornamental plant. Marshalli (3) originated from Persia and contains pyrethrins in negligible amounts therefore, the pyrethrum referred to in this text is from C. cinerariaefolium (1). 

Valant-Vetschera, K.M. et al.. New exudate flavonoids of species from the Chrysanthemum complex (Asteraceae-Anthemidae), Biochem. Syst. Ecol, 31, 545, 2003. 

Chemicals have been used to kill or control pests for centuries. The Chinese used arsenic to control insects, the early Romans used common salt to control weeds and sulfur to control insects. In the 1800s pyrethrin (i.e., compounds present in the flowers of the chrysanthemum, Pyrethrum cineraefolium) was found to have insecticidal properties. The roots of certain Derris plant species, (D. elliptica and Lonchocarpus spp.) were used by the Chinese and by South American natives as a fish poison. The active ingredient, rotenone, was isolated in 1895 and used for insect control. Another material... 

Cinnamomum eamphora (Linne) Nees et Ebermaier, family Lauraceae. The plant grows well in Japan, China, Formosa, India, Burma and Malaysia. Camphor also occurs in certain species of Artemisia, (Compositae) chrysanthemum (compositae), Salvia (Labiatae), Ocimum (Labiatae), Lavander (Labiatae), Pinus (Pinaceae). It is also present in Rosemarinus officinalis (Labiatae), Aristolochia indica (Aristolochi-aceae), Blumea balsamifera (Camphreaceae), Prunella vulgaris Labiatae), Cinnamomum ganduliferum (Lauraceae) etc (38-55) ... 

The safflower plant is a member of the Compositae family. Other members of this family are the artichoke, chrysanthemum, niger, and sunflower. There are at least 25 species of the Carthamus genus that grow in the wild (18), but only C. tinc-torius, which we call safflower, has been domesticated some quantities of C. oxyacantha have been gathered and used as oil or food sources in India and Pakistan (19). 

Bosco, D., Minucci, C., Boccardo, G. and Conti, M. (1997). Differential acquisition of chrysanthemum yellows phytoplasma by three leafhopper species. Entomologia Experimentalis etApplicata, 83 219-224. 

Perhaps the most important class of insecticide is the pyrethroids [23, 26]. Originally, this class of substance was isolated from the plant species Chrysanthemum cinerariafolium, but the natural products were not sufSciently stable for commercial... 

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