Sustainable insect pest management using bioactive compounds derived from marine macroalgae: A comprehensive review

The growing environmental and health concerns linked to synthetic insecticides have increased the search for sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Marine macroalgae have become a valuable natural resource due to their diverse range of bioactive compounds, such as polysaccharides, polyphenols, terpenoids, fatty acids, and halogenated metabolites. Many of these compounds exhibit potent insecticidal, repellent, antifeedant, and growth-regulating properties, making them valuable for pest management applications. This comprehensive review summarises current knowledge on the potential of bioactive compounds from green, brown, and red macroalgae for sustainable insect pest management. It emphasizes the use of these bioactives in protecting food crops, focusing on their biochemical mechanisms and their role as eco-friendly bioformulations or biomaterials in integrated pest management (IPM). The review highlights key challenges that limit their practical use, such as seasonal variability and regional influences in metabolite content. It also notes with large-scale biomass production, extraction and formulation costs, additionally, limited field validation and regulatory issues. Advances in biotechnology, synthetic biology, and precision agriculture are discussed as future ways to boost metabolite production, improve consistency, and enable targeted applications. Consequently, bioactive compounds derived from marine macroalgae have great promise as next-generation biopesticides. Their inclusion in integrated pest management strategies can support resilient, sustainable and climate-smart agriculture.