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Student 10-Minute Presentation Competition

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology

Student Competition

Student

Grad 10-min Competition: PBT, Toxicology

Impact of sorghum polyphenolics on the growth, development and on detoxification enzyme activities in the stored product pest Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Monday, November 10, 2025
8:48 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, F151, OCC
Oral Presentation Student Competition
Stored product pests can cause significant damage and loss to post-harvest commodities and threats to food security worldwide. However traditional pest management approaches like fumigation can be ineffective due to insecticide resistance, highlighting the need for alternative management strategies. Polyphenols, a group of plant secondary metabolites, play diverse functional roles, including chemical defenses against insect herbivores in vegetative plant tissues. Preliminary studies also suggest they play a role in resilience against insect infestation in grains. This study explores the potential role of polyphenols in sorghum grain in mediating tolerance to T. castaneum, a cosmopolitan pest with a broad host range including stored maize, wheat, sorghum, and rice. To address this question, we added sorghum polyphenol extracts to the insect diet in a dose-dependent manner and measured impacts on adult mortality, progeny production, developmental time, and progeny size of T. castaneum. We also examined the impact of feeding on sorghum polyphenols on detoxification enzyme activities. Previous results indicate a negative correlation between polyphenolic concentrations and emergence of T. castaneum adults when cultured on polyphenol rich sorghum flour. This ongoing research aims to provide insights into whether sorghum polyphenols have negative impacts on life history and enzyme activity levels of T. castaneum, offering a potential natural solution for pest management in stored products.