Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme that catalyzes acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid. Conventional pesticides, including organophosphates and carbamates target and inhibit the activity of AChE. To obtain more pesticide precursors that meet the safety requirements, more than 200 compounds were screened. Tirotundin and parthenolide identified as potential neurotoxins to nematodes were isolated from Tithonia diversifolia and Chrysanthemum parthenium, respectively. Their IC50 values were 6.89 ± 0.30 and 5.51 ± 0.23 μg/mL, respectively against the AChE isolated from Caenorhabditis elegans. AChE was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner using the two compounds. And the Lineweaver-Burk and Dixon plots indicated that tirotundin and parthenolide were reversible inhibitors against AChE, both inhibiting AChE in a mixed-type competitive manner and demonstrating these compounds may possess dual binding site AChE inhibitors. LC50 values of tirotundin and parthenolide against C. elegans were 9.16 ± 0.21 and 7.23 ± 0.48 μg/mL, respectively. These results provide a certain theoretical basis for the development and utilization of novel pesticides.
Keywords: Parthenolide; acetylcholinesterase; enzyme kinetics; tirotundin; toxic effects.