# Challenge of Utilization Vegetal Extracts as Natural Plant Protection Products
## 1 Introduction  
Ensuring food needs for a numerically growing population in certain geographic areas of the world has stimulated the use of natural plant protection products (as biopesticides) in agriculture because of their role in increasing the productivity of crops and protecting them from the action of certain pests [1; 2]. In agriculture, the action of the pest manifests both during the development of the crop and in the post-harvest period (during transport, or storage). For this reason, the manufacturing of chemical plant protection products (known as pesticides) has been and is still closely related to certain branches of science such as biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, as well as those of the agricultural sector. The use of chemical plant protection products has led to increased productivity in agriculture mainly due its efficient action against the unwanted vegetation and removal of pests [2; 3; 4]. According todata provided by the World Health Organization [1], chemical plant protection products usage was increasing worldwide since 1940 (when first use took place), especially in developed countries, having as main objectives the following [5]:  
1. The control of arthropods during the vegetation period. 2. The control of pathogens from agricultural crops and in the forest. 3. Selective weed control in agricultural crops and forestry. 4. The disinsectisation/sanitation of silos, food stores, and greenhouses. 5. The treatment of seeds. However, the intensive use of chemical plant protection products (persistent and non-biodegradable), often even irrational, has contributed to the initiation and intensification of deep soil degradation processes, groundwater and surface water pollution, and air contamination, consequently affecting the flora and fauna in the adjacent areas [2; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11]. Contamination of crops from these soils has been recorded which has led to the impact on the entire food chain and especially on food products innocity [12]. Therefore, new actual agricultural development directions are imposed and the development of new, highly efficient products that do not create dependence and resistance among the pests (thus reducing the number of applications and the dose of these products) to protect fauna and be environmentally friendly is urgently required [2; 3]. In recent decades, international and national concerns have been intensified both to increase plant production and to improve its capitalization. Multiple and complex industrialization of plant crops is constantly evolving by applying modern methods for their preservation and processing. The plant organism, in terms of the chemical composition and the functions that performs, is very complex. Today, plants are recognized as the sources of bioactive compounds (terpene, steroids, anthocyanins, anthraquinones, phenols, polyphenols, etc.) with applications in cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries [3]. However, recent data show that a growing number of vegetal plants extracts have been studied and tested as natural plant protection products (biopesticides) (well-known are the extracts of _Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium_, _Chrysanthemum coccineum_, _Haloxylon salicornicum_, _Stemona japonicum_, _Schoenocaulon officinal_, _Origanum vulgare_, _Thymus vulgaris_, _Azadiractina indica_, _Leuzea carthamoides_, _Mentha_ spp., _Lavendula_ spp., _Nicotiana_ spp., and also certain active ingredients as polyphenols, alpha-chaocnine, nicotine, thymol, silphinenes, carvacrol, pyrethrins, rotenone, byanodine sabadilla, from certain essential oils and plant extracts) that can be used against a wide range of arthropod pests that attack vegetal plant crops or seeds deposits. The obtained results demonstrated its high efficacy, multiple mechanisms of action and low toxicity on vertebrates [3; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17]. However, the number of biopesticides based on vegetal plant extracts, which have been tested, is still low.