Binding Efficacy of Bufadienolide a Secondary Metabolite of Bryophyllum pinnatum , Shows its Potential as an Insecticide

Mosquitoes cause several fatal infectious diseases. Synthetic insecticides were effective in the past but had adverse effects on nontarget organisms. Therefore, plant secondary metabolites are now recognized as effective alternatives to synthetic insecticides for controlling mosquito populations due to their reduced toxicity and cost‐effectiveness. In this study, the insecticidal efficacy of secondary metabolites of Bryophyllum pinnatum was tested using larval bioassay and in silico molecular docking analysis of bioactive compounds, namely, bufadienolide, bryophyllin A, and bryophyllin C with insect proteins such as arylalkylamine N ‐acetyltranferase (AANAT), glutathione S‐transferase (GSTs), and sterol carrier protein 2 (SCP‐2). Larval bioassay was done using the methanol extract of B. pinnatum on the 4 th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus , which showed 100% of larval mortality. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis shows the presence of functional groups, namely, primary amines, alkanes, carboxylic group, ester, nitro groups, cyclic alcohol, aryl, and aryl halides. The molecular docking study showed that bufadienolide exhibited remarkable binding affinity with insect target proteins. Based on in silico study and larval bioassay, we conclude that bufadienolide from B. pinnatum has insecticidal potential and can be explored as a novel botanical insecticide.