In Vivo and in Silico Evaluation of the Effect of p-Acetamide and MPAEMA on the Model Organism Galleria Mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

In this study, 2-chloro-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)acetamide (p-acetamide) and 2-(4-methoxyphenylamino)-2-oxoethyl methacrylate (MPAEMA) were resynthesized to evaluate their effect on the agricultural pest Galleria mellonella. The toxicities of p-acetamide and MPAEMA against the larval stage of G. mellonella were evaluated concurrently. The results indicate that p-acetamide has a lethal effect on insect larvae at lower doses. LC50 doses of p-acetamide and MPAEMA were 873,572 and 687,355 uM, respectively. These values represent the concentrations of the substances at which 50% of the larvae exposed to them are expected to die. The molecular docking interactions of p-acetamide and MPAEMA with the proteins superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were analyzed. The binding energy between MPAEMA and glutathione peroxidase was determined to be -6.8 kcal/mol. This suggests that MPAEMA may have an inhibitory effect on glutathione peroxidase and could be further investigated for developing pesticides that target this enzyme.