RT Journal Article T1 Germacrone Derivatives as new Insecticidal and Acaricidal Compounds: A Structure-Activity Relationship A1 Galisteo Pretel, Alberto A1 Pérez del Pulgar, Helena A1 Guerrero de León, Estela A1 López-Pérez, José Luis A1 Olmeda García, Ángeles Sonia A1 Gonzalez-Coloma, Azucena A1 Barrero, Alejandro A1 Quílez del Moral, José Francisco AB Currently, the use of synthetic pesticides is the main method of plant protection applied in agri- and horticulture. However, its excessive use leads to the development of pesticide resistance, a contamination of the environment, toxicity to non-target organisms, and risks for human health. With the ultimate aim of contributing to the develop of a more sustainable pest management, we used the natural product germacrone (compound 1), reported to possess significant insecticidal activity, as starting material for the generation of molecular diversity (2–24). Some of the generated derivatives are natural compounds, such as 1,10-epoxygermacrone (2), 4,5-epoxygermacrone (3), gajutsulactone A (7), germacrol (11), isogermacrone (14), 9-hydroxyeudesma-3,7(11)dien-6-one (19), eudesma-4,7(11),dien-8-one (20), eudesma-3,7(11)-dien-8-one (21) and eudesma-4(15),7(11)-dien-8-one (22). Compounds, 7,11-9,10-diepoxigermacr-4,5-en-8-ol (17), 7,11-epoxieudesma-4,7(11)-dien-8-one (23) and 7,11-epoxieudesma-3,7(11)-dien-8-one (24) are described for the first time. The biocidal activity of most of these compounds was assayed against the tick Hyalomma lusitanicum. The acaricidal effects of compound 24 were four times higher than that of germacrone (1). Compound 2 is an insect antifeedant a thousand times more potent than germacrone against Rhopalosiphum padi, which makes this substance a promising selective antifeedant against this cereal pest. PB MDPI SN 1420-3049 YR 2019 FD 2019 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/12528 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/12528 LA eng NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)/FEDER DS Docta Complutense RD 7 abr 2025