Insect pests represent a major global challenge to important agricultural crops. Insecticides are often applied to combat such pests, but their use has caused additional challenges such as environmental contamination and human health issues. Over millions of years, plants have evolved natural defense mechanisms to overcome insect pests and pathogens. One such mechanism is the production of natural repellents or specialized metabolites like glucosinolates. There are three types of glucosinolates produced in the order Brassicales: aliphatic, indole, and benzenic glucosinolates. Upon insect herbivory, a “mustard oil bomb” consisting of glucosinolates and their hydrolyzing enzymes (myrosinases) is triggered to release toxic degradation products that act as insect deterrents. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of glucosinolate biosynthesis, the “mustard oil bomb”, and how these metabolites function in plant defense against pathogens and insects. Understanding these defense mechanisms will not only allow us to harness the benefits of this group of natural metabolites for enhancing pest control in Brassicales crops but also to transfer the “mustard oil bomb” to non-glucosinolate producing crops to boost their defense and thereby reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, affected by several factors including oxidative stress; and although conventional synthetic medicines have been used to treat cancer, they often result in various side effects. Consequently, there is a growing need for newer, safer and more effective alternatives, such as natural plant products. Essential oils (EOs) are one such alternative, offering a wide range of bioactivities, including antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Accordingly, the objective of the present study was to investigate the chemical composition, as well as the antioxidant and anticancer properties of the leaf essential oil of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (CLLEO) belonging to the Cupressaceae family. Totally, 59 constituents were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. cis-Abienol, trans-ferruginol, α-cadinol, δ-muurolene and α-pinene were the major components. The in vitro cytotoxicity study against human breast (MCF-7), colon (HCT-116), lung (A-549), hepatocellular (HepG-2) carcinoma cells using MTT assay indicated a promising cytotoxic activity against all the tested cancer cells, particularly HepG-2, with significant selectivity indices. CLLEO exhibited weak antioxidant activity according to the DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays. In silico docking of these constituents against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) and caspase-8 using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software demonstrated good binding affinities of the components with the active site of these targets. These findings suggested using CLLEO, or its individual components, as a potentially viable therapeutic option for managing cancerous conditions.