Avaliação da atividade in silico, repelente e biocida de derivados do benzilidenomalononitril frente a Periplaneta americana (barata doméstica)

Abstract

The american cockroach (Periplaneta americana) represents a major public health problem because it transmits diseases and promotes allergies. The toxicity and increasing resistance of these insects to commonly used insecticides makes it necessary to look for new substances that will help to combat this pest. Thus, this work aims to evaluate the insecticidal activity of six compounds derived from 2-benzylidene malononitrile against P. americana, given the versatility of this compound and well-established synthesis. For this, a virtual screening was done using molecular docking, with the software GOLD as a tool against acetylcholinesterase, accompanied by a screening using adult cockroaches. The selected substances were submitted to repellency and toxicity tests. In molecular docking, all the six substances interacted with the enzyme, but mortality was observed only in four, which were selected for the following tests. It was observed that none of the substances showed repellent effect, but three of them showed attractive effect. 2-benzylidene malononitril showed a toxic effect, leading up to 54% of cockroaches exposed to death. These results demonstrate that the 2-benzylidene malononitril derivatives have an insecticidal potential against P. americana, and further tests are necessary to potentiate this effect