Research advances in pesticidal activities of coumarin derivatives and acaricidal mechanism of scopoletin

Coumarin derivatives are a class of natural compounds with phenylhydrazine α-pyrone structure. They exhibit a broad scope of medical (e.g., anticancer, antibacterial, antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities) and pesticidal activities (e.g., insecticidal and antifungal activities). Recent studies have shown that coumarin compounds have the potential to become novel acaricides because of their prominent acaricidal activities and unique target. In this review, the advances on insecticidal, acaricidal, antibacterial activities of coumarin derivatives have been summarized. The structural modification and structure-activity relationship of coumarin derivatives and the acaricidal mechanism of scopoletin against Tetranychus cinnabarinus have also been reviewed. The main target has been identified as the calcium channel-associated G-protein coupled neuropeptide receptor (TcGPCR). These advances provide an important basis for the development of new phytochemical insecticidal and acaricidal agents derived from coumarin and targeting calcium ion channels.