Potential of Turmeric (Curcuma longa) as an Insect, Rodent Repellent and Its Antifungal and Allelopathic Effects on Lowland-based Rice Farming Systems: A Review
Keywords:
Allelopathy, Curcuminoids, Ar-tumerone, Demethoxycurcumin, Repellent, Anti-fungal, Antibacteria, OlfactoryAbstract
Rodents and insects in lowland rice farming areas destroy crops, which leads to severe food security problems. The widespread use of chemical rodenticides in society leads to environmental contamination, poses toxic risks to non-target organisms, and contributes to the development of resistance. This review evaluates the potential of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) as a sustainable, plant-based alternative for insect, rodent repellent and its antifungal and allelopathic effects management. The researchers performed a systematic literature review that analyzed peer-reviewed studies from 1988 to 2025 and found 34 articles that met their research requirements. The findings demonstrate that turmeric contains bioactive compounds, which include curcuminoids and volatile oils such as ar-turmerone that show insecticidal and antifungal, and repellent effects. The compounds produce their effects through mechanisms that cause olfactory disruption and feeding deterrence. The existing evidence for rodent repellency remains scarce; yet turmeric shows strong potential to impact rodent behavior through its biological properties. The antifungal and allelopathic properties of the substance enable it to protect crops and enhance soil health. Turmeric shows promise as a sustainable pest control method because it functions as an environmentally friendly solution.
References
Ali, A., Wang, Y. H., & Khan, I. A. (2015). Larvicidal and biting deterrent activity of essential oils of Curcuma longa, ar-turmerone, and curcuminoids against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Culicidae: Diptera). Journal of Medical Entomology, 52(5), 979-986.
Brown, P. R., Huth, N. I., Banks, P. B., & Singleton, G. R. (2016). Relationship between abundance of rodents and damage to agricultural crops. Crop Protection, 72, 1–9.
Buckle, A. P., & Smith, R. H. (2015). Rodent pests and their control (2nd ed.). CABI.
Chattopadhyay I, Biswas K, Bandyopadhyay U, Banerjee RK. Turmeric and curcumin: Biological actions and medicinal applications. Curr. Sci. 2004; 87:44-53.
Chintala, S., et al. (2023). Turmeric-mediated antifungal activity in rice systems. Industrial Crops and Products, 204, 117267.
Damalas, C. A. (2011). Potential uses of turmeric ('Curcuma longa') products as alternative means of pest management in crop production. Plant omics, 4(3), 136-141.
Damodharan, S., et al. (2024). Repellent and toxic effects of turmeric essential oil. Scientific Reports, 14, 28138.
Dethoup, T., Auamcharoen, W., Jantasorn, A., & Niphon, K. (2022). The efficacy of dry medicinal plant powders against rice diseases. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 164(2), 241-252.
de Souza Tavares, W., Akhtar, Y., Gonçalves, G. L. P., Zanuncio, J. C., & Isman, M. B. (2016). Turmeric powder and its derivatives from Curcuma longa rhizomes: Insecticidal effects on cabbage looper and the role of synergists. Scientific reports, 6(1), 34093.
Gupta, S. C., Patchva, S., & Aggarwal, B. B. (2013). Therapeutic roles of curcumin. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 57(9), 1510–1528.
Hewlings, S. J., & Kalman, D. S. (2017). Curcumin: A review of its effects on human health. Foods, 6(10), 92.
Hossen, M. S., Tanvir, E. M., Prince, M. B., Paul, S., Saha, M., Ali, M. Y., ... & Karim, N. (2017). Protective mechanism of turmeric (Curcuma longa) on carbofuran-induced hematological and hepatic toxicities in a rat model. Pharmaceutical Biology, 55(1), 1937-1945.
Isman, M. B. (2006). Botanical insecticides, deterrents, and repellents in modern agriculture and an increasingly regulated world. Annual review of entomology, 51(1), 45-66.
Jilani, G., Saxena, R. C., & Rueda, B. P. (1988). Repellent and growth-inhibiting effects of turmeric oil, sweetflag oil, neem oil, and “Margosan-O” on red flour beetle (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, 81(4), 1226-1230.
Kumar, S., Singh, K., & Dwivedi, K. N. (2017). Potential of Indian traditional medicinal plant turmeric as insecticide Antifeedant and insect repellent against household, museum and library insect pests. Int. J. Entomol. Res, 2(3), 42-46.
Lima, M., Stenseth, N. C., Leirs, H., & Jaksic, F. M. (2003). Population dynamics of small mammals in semi-arid regions: a comparative study of demographic variability in two rodent species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 270(1528), 1997-2007.
Padalia, R. C.; Verma, R. S.; Sundaresan, V.; Chauhan, A.; Chanotiya, C. S.; Yadav, A., Volatile Terpenoid Compositions of Leaf and Rhizome of Curcuma amada Roxb. From Northern India, J. Essential Oil Res., 2013, 25(1), 17–22.
Policegoudra, R. S.; Rehna, K.; Rao, L. J.; Aradhya, S. M., Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity and Platelet Aggregation Inhibitory Activity of a Novel Molecule Isolated and Characterized from Mango Ginger (Curcuma amada Roxb.) Rhizome, J. Biosci., 2010, 35(2), 231–240.
Prasad, S., & Aggarwal, B. B. (2011). Turmeric, the golden spice. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition.
Radwan, M. M., Tabanca, N., Wedge, D. E., Tarawneh, A. H., & Cutler, S. J. (2014). Antifungal compounds from turmeric and nutmeg with activity against plant pathogens. Fitoterapia, 99, 341-346.
Rajkumari, S., & Sanatombi, K. (2017). Nutritional value, phytochemical composition, and biological activities of edible Curcuma species: A review. International journal of food properties, 20(sup3), S2668-S2687.
Ramly, N. S. (2019). Allelopathic effects of turmeric leaves (Curcuma longa) extract against jungle rice (Echinochloa colona).
Sanit, S. (2016). Antifungal activity of crude extracts of some medicinal plants against Fusarium sp., the pathogen of dirty panicle disease in rice. Journal of medicinal plants research, 10(19), 248-255.
Sarwar, M. (2015). Species complex, damage pattern and efficiency of rodenticides in controlling rodents attacking rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields. International Journal of Animal Biology, 1(5), 202-208.
Singleton, G. R., Belmain, S., Brown, P. R., Aplin, K., & Htwe, N. M. (2010). Impacts of rodent outbreaks on food security in Asia. Wildlife Research, 37(5), 355-359.
Srivastava, S.; Chitranshi, N.; Srivastava, S.; Dan, M.; Rawat, A.; Pushpangadan, P. Pharmacognostic Evaluation of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. Nat. Prod. Sci. 2006, 12, 162.
Sulhath, T. A., Visakh, N. U., Pathrose, B., & George, S. B. (2024). Investigating the insecticidal properties of essential oils extracted from wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica salisb) leaves waste against three key stored product pests. Sustainable
Susilowati, I. T., Harningsih, T., & Vidyaningrum, I. A. (2021). Larvicidal activity of turmeric (curcuma domestica) extract against aedes aegypti l. BIOLINK (Jurnal Biologi Lingkungan Industri Kesehatan), 8(1), 1-9.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Johary Domaob, Aldrees Ansary Guro, Norhanie H. Jamel, Sittie Sahaya Samporna
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
