In Martinique, Helicoverpa zea is a common pest of tomato and is responsible for significant economic losses. To fight against H. zea proliferation and damage, corn could be used as a trap crop since H. zea larvae growth in the corn silk was inhibited by the presence of some flavonoids. However, only some corn varieties show an efficient inhibitory activity against H. zea depending on their flavonoid composition. In order to be able to select corn varieties with inhibition potential to be tested as a trap plant, a metabolomic approach was developed to compare the flavonoid composition of corn silks from resistant and nonresistant varieties. Quantitative analysis using UHPLC/TQ MRM MS associated with statistical treatments allowed the determination of the most concentrated and discriminant flavonoids of the resistant Java variety that clearly stood out, presenting a higher content in several C-glycosyl-O-glycosyl luteolin and apigenin derivatives such as maysin molecules.
Keywords: Helicoverpa zea; UHPLC/MRM; corn silk; flavonoids; metabolic-targeted analysis; multivariate analysis; trap crop.