Semisynthesis of Conjugates from Matrine/Cholesterol with Piperic Acid/ Piperic Acids-Like As Insecticidal and Aphicidal Agents

??? To find natural-product-based pesticide candidates, a series of conjugates of cholesterol/matrine and piperic acid/piperic acids-like were semi-prepared as insecticidal and aphicidal agents against Mythimna separata Walker and Aphis citricola van der Goot. Notably, two steric structures were confirmed by single-crystal diffraction. Importantly, compounds IIc, IVc and Vb exhibited (3.2 and 3.5 folds promising insecticidal activity of cholesterol) more potent insecticidal activity than toosendanin. Compounds Ia (1.45-fold of matrine) and IVb (2.2-fold of cholesterol) showed potent aphicidal activity.