ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions
This article is part of the Research TopicMolecular Interactions Between Biopesticides, Plant Volatiles, Essential Oils, and Target OrganismsView all 3 articles
Chemical composition of Origanum majorana, Mentha spicata and Ocimum basilicum essential oils and their impact on Spodoptera littoralis: toxicity and immune response
Provisionally accepted
Mofid Askar1,2
Elsayed E Hafez3
Ahmed A. Saleh4Amal H Marei3Hanaa S. Hussein4El-Seedi H. R.5
Fatma H. Galal6Yaohai Li7Honghua SU1*- 1Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- 2Damietta University, Dumyat al Jadidah, Egypt
- 3City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, New Borg El-Arab City, Egypt
- 4Alexandria University Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria, Egypt
- 5Menoufia University, Shebeen El-Kom, Egypt
- 6Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
- 7Xizang Agricultural and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, China
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This study presents the essential oils (EOs) derived from Origanum majorana L. (Marjoram), Mentha spicata L. (Spearmint) and Ocimum basilicum L. (Basil), which are explored for their insecticidal potential against Spodoptera littoralis larvae. EOs were extracted and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), identifying 47, 37 and 27 compounds in O. majorana, M. spicata and O. basilicum, respectively. Major constituents include terpinen-4-ol (25.47 %) and sabinene (18.3%) in O. majorana, piperitenone oxide (43.83 %) in M. spicata, and methyl (E)-cinnamate (48.69 %) in O. basilicum. Toxicity assays demonstrated significant larvicidal activity with LC50 values of 1.18 % for O. majorana, 0.43% for M. spicata, and 0.51% for O. basilicum. Furthermore, these EOs notably influenced the expression of defence-related genes in S. littoralis, with treated larvae showing an ~80% increase in PR1, endoglucanase (PR2) and chitinase gene expression compared to controls. Differential display confirmed the amplification of these regulated genes in treated insects. This research underscores the efficacy of EOs from O. majorana, M. spicata and O. basilicum as natural insecticides, providing valuable insights for sustainable pest management through specific gene markers.
Keywords: defencegene, essential oils, M. spicata, O. basilicum, O. majorana, Spodoptera littoralis, Toxic chemical
Received: 04 Nov 2025; Accepted: 15 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Askar, Hafez, Saleh, Marei, Hussein, R., Galal, Li and SU. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Honghua SU
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