Botanicals for Sustainable Management of Stored Food Grains: Pesticidal Efficacy, Mode of Action and Ecological Risk Assessment Using Computational Approaches

Botanical pesticides have been used for the control of agricultural pests since antiquity, especially in biodiversity-rich countries. However, so far very limited products based on botanicals are commercially available due to lack of practical evidence, availability of raw materials at affordable prices, chemical standardization, the molecular mechanism of action, and strict legislation. The recent reports on the negative effects of currently used synthetic insecticides, and antimicrobial agents on health and the environment, revitalize the interest of agri-food industries towards the development of plant-based pesticidal agents for the sustainable management of storage pests. The current advancement in science and technology could overcome the limitations of botanicals, thus, in the past few years, insecticidal and antimicrobial properties of botanicals have been widely explored as a potential eco-friendly alternative to synthetic pesticides. In the present review, we summarise the potential of botanicals against insect pests and microbial contamination of stored food grain. Further, the elucidation of the probable mechanism of toxicity, safety profile, and ecological risk assessment has been explored using computation tools. In addition, current existing limitations and the need for further research to develop eco-friendly plant-based pesticides for sustainable management of stored food grain and their shelved products have been discussed.