Analysis of the differential metabolites of eurycomanone inhibiting the growth and development of Helicoverpa armigera larvae

To clarify the metabolic changes induced by Eurycomanone (EN) in inhibiting the growth and development of Helicoverpa armigera larvae. In this study, the effects of EN, as well as carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, on the growth and development of H. armigera were examined adopting mixed toxic feed. Furthermore, non-targeted metabolomics techniques were employed to annotate, screen, classify, and analyze the differential metabolites in H. armigera larvae after EN treatment. The results of the growth and development experiment showed that 10 μg/g of EN significantly inhibited the growth and development of H. armigera larvae, with a 2.32-fold decrease in larval weight, a 1.35-fold decrease in pupal weight, and a 33.82% and 29.68% decrease in pupation rate and eclosion rate, respectively. The addition of pancreatic protein hydrolysate and sucrose partially restored the inhibitory activity of EN, while the addition of glycerol had no significant effect on inhibitory activity of larval growth and development. A total of 19 differential metabolites were screened using non-targeted metabolomics techniques, including 11 upregulated and 8 downregulated metabolites, mainly distributed in nutritional metabolic pathways related to amino acids and their metabolites, nucleotides, fatty acyls, and carbohydrates. Among them, Methanesulfonic acid, Methionine sulfoxide, 3-O-Methyldopa, and 3, 4-Dihydroxybenzeneacetic acid were upregulated more significantly, with fold changes of 119.80, 3.34, 2.40, and 2.38, respectively, compared to those of the control group. On the other hand, L-Methionine, Octadecadienamide, L-Tartaric acid, ATP, CTP, β-D-furanfructosyl-α-D-glucopyranoside, Eritadenine, and L-Dopa were down-regulated, with fold changes of 0.49, 0.48, 0.48, 0.41, 0.36, 5.41 × 10^-3, 1.30 × 10^-3 and 1.48 × 10^-4, respectively. This study elucidated the metabolic regulatory mechanism underlying the inhibition of H. armigera growth and development by EN, providing a theoretical basis for the development and utilization of this compound.