Activity of aromatic terpenoids at the House fly (Musca domestica) nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Natural botanical-based products are emerging as potential insecticides because of their reduced mammalian and environmental toxicity when compared to conventional synthetic insecticides. Furthermore, natural compounds may serve as lead structures for further development of synthetic analoges. While natural botanical compounds are being introduced into the market place, their precise mechanism of action is not well understood. It may be possible that these compounds have several mechanisms of biochemical action. Previous reports from our laboratory have shown that carvacrol antagonizes the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). The presented research will expand the investigation of aromatic terpenoids’ binding to the insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR).