Promising Nutritional Values of Anethum graveolens Used as a Flavourful Herb for Dishes and Bioinsecticidal Agent Against Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann): Attractancy and Lethality

ABSTRACT The current study aimed to delve into the nutritional value and insecticidal effect associated with Anethum graveolens (dill) against Ceratitis capitata . Characterisation of Anethum phytocompounds was carried out using GC/MS spectra. Chromatographic analysis uncovered that Anethum is rich in bioactive phytochemicals, including apiol, eucalyptol, α‐tujene and (+)‐2‐bornanone. Dill exhibited significant antioxidant activity, ranking closely behind ascorbic acid with IC50 values of 27.5 μg/mL and displayed optimal inhibition zones comparable to those seen with standard antibacterial agents. Recent findings indicate a dose‐dependent relationship regarding the repellency effects of Anethum essential oil. When agricultural pests were treated with a low concentration (0.000079 μL/cm 2 ) of dill oil, a repellency percentage (RP) value of −20 was observed. Additionally, at concentrations of 0.000159 and 0.000238 μL/cm 2 , the volatile oil demonstrated repellency values of −40 and −53, respectively. The lethal time (LT95) for Anethum (0.0000597 μL/cm 2 ) was approximately 7.215 h. It displayed a significant toxic effect, with a median lethal time (LT50) of 4.748 h at a concentration of 0.0000398 μL/cm 2 and 3.174 h at 0.0000597 μL/cm 2 . In addition, a molecular docking approach using the receptor: ‘medfly Odorant Binding Protein CcapOBP22/CcapOBP69a’(pdb: 6hhe) related to ‘ Ceratitis capitata ’ was performed and significant results were obtained, especially with ‘3‐Cyclohexene‐1‐ethanol, β,4‐dimethyl‐’ and ‘Phenol, 2‐methyl‐5‐(1‐methylethyl)‐’.