Efficiency of caffeic acid (CA) on Spodoptera littoralis was investigated. CA was mixed with artificial diet, and feeding indices and allatostatin-A (AST-A) content of the midgut were measured 10 days later. α-Amylase and protease activities were evaluated for 10 days. CA significantly decreased feeding indices. Feeding on an artificial diet containing CA decreased protease and α-amylase activities in the midgut. The incubation of the dissected midgut with AST-A increased α-amylase and protease activities. The injection of AST-A into the hemolymph of larvae also increased protease and α-amylase activities. Competitive ELISA and immunohistochemistry results showed that starvation decreased the AST-A titer and AST-A immunoreactivity (AST-A-ir) cells in the midgut whereas refeeding increased it. Here, for the first time we showed that feeding on an artificial diet containing CA also caused the AST-A level to decrease in the midgut, which itself caused α-amylase and protease activities to decrease.
Keywords: Egyptian cotton leafworm; allatostatin-A; caffeic acid; digestive enzymes.