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The objectives of the present study were to investigate the phytochemical composition of essential oils (EO) from rhizomes of Acorus calamus collected from Jorhat, Assam; Munsyari and Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India.  EOs were studied for different pesticidal activities viz; nematicidal, insecticidal, and herbicidal activity. To study the synergistic effect of EOs on pesticidal activity, four combinations of EOs were prepared. Phenylpropanoids with β-asarone as the main compound were identified in all collections with varying percentages. Its contribution was found to be 85.8% in Munsyari EOs followed by 74.3% in Pantnagar and 62.6% in Assam collections. All EOs exhibited dose-dependent in vitro nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita in terms of immobility and inhibition of egg hatching. The activity was observed as maximum in the EO combination of all three collections (1:1:1) whereas minimum in the Assam collections. In insecticidal activity against Lipaphis erysimi and Selepa celtis, maximum mortality was observed in Munsyari collections. The oils were assessed for sprout inhibition activity in terms of seed germination inhibition, coleoptile growth of the shoot and root against Raphanus raphanistrum. Maximum seed germination inhibition, % shoot, and root growth inhibition were found in all collections EO combinations. To predict the possible mode of action and the structure-activity relationship between major compounds of EOs and biological activities, in silico molecular docking and ADME/Tox studies were performed. The docking results revealed the mode of action of proteins of insects, nematodes, and weeds and were found in support of in vitro experiments. The study may be helpful for the development of herbal-based pesticides after proper clinical trials.

Background: The Lamiaceae (Labiatae) is one of the most diverse and widespread plant families’ in terms of ethno medicine and its medicinal value is based on the volatile oils concentration. This family is important for flavour, fragrance and medicinal properties. Manyplants belonging to this family have indigenous value. Method: The essential oil of Plectranthus gerardianusBenth. (Lamiaceae), was analysed by GC and GC-MS analysis, while the major component was isolated and conformed by NMR spectroscopy. Result: The oil was found to be rich in oxygenated monoterpenes, which contribute around 62% of the total oil. The major components identified were fenchone (22.90%) and carvenone oxide (16.75%), besides other mono and sesquiterpenoids. The in-vitro antimicrobial activity of essential oil was tested against three gram negative bacteria viz. Pasteurellamultocida, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica, two gram positive bacteria viz. Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and two fungi viz. Candida albicans and Aspergillusflavus. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was also compared to the antimicrobial activity of leaf essential oil of another Himalayan plant viz. Nepetacoerulescens. Conclusion: The oil showed in-vitro antimicrobial activity against all the microbial strains and can lessen the ever-growing demand of potentially hazardous antibiotics for treatment.