Synthesis and insecticidal activity of sulfonate derivatives of sesamol against .

A series of sulfonate derivatives of sesamol were synthesized and evaluated for their insecticidal activity against a crop-threatening agricultural pest, the pre-third-instar larvae of . Among all the target compounds, compounds , , and exhibited more promising insecticidal activity than sesamol and toosendanin, and the final mortality rates (FMRs) of , , , , and toosendanin were 60.7%/60.7%/67.9%/53.6%/32.1%/50.0%, respectively. Especially compound exhibited the most potent insecticidal activity with FMRs of 67.9%. This suggested that a 4-fluorophenylsulfonyl group introduced at the hydroxyl position of sesamol was necessary for obtaining the most potent compound.[Formula: see text].