Part 3: Plants and Insects: The Human Perspective 10: Human Uses Check Access
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Published:28 Apr 2017
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Special Collection: RSC eTextbook CollectionProduct Type: Textbooks
The Chemistry of Plants and Insects: Plants, Bugs, and Molecules, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017, pp. 139-161.
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Many plant–insect interactions crucially affect human lives, like pollination of crops or insect infestations of useful plants. Some directly benefit our lives. Honey bees produce honey from floral nectars. The composition of honey is discussed. Adulteration of honey can be detected by H-NMR techniques. The chemical composition of beeswax is described and compared with fats and oils and paraffin wax from crude oil. Silk is produced by silk moths whose larvae are raised on a diet of mulberry leaves. Silk, the strongest natural fiber, consists of two main proteins: fibroin and sericin. Several secondary plant metabolites in mulberry leaves make them attractive to silk moth caterpillars. Kermes, a red dye, is derived from the kermes scale insect Kermes vermilio that feeds on kermes oaks. Cochineal is a red dye obtained from the cochineal scale insect (Dactylopius coccus) that lives on cactus pads of the genus Opuntia. Both are anthraquinone dyes. Plant compounds that repel or kill herbivorous insects have diverse chemical structures. Azadirachtin from the neem tree and pyrethrins from the pyrethrum plant are examples of strong insect repellents from plants. Pyrethroids are synthetically derived from pyrethrins. Rotenone from the roots of Derris sp. is a broad-spectrum pesticide. Nicotine is a potent and highly toxic broad-spectrum insecticide. The natural compounds inspired the development of synthetic products.