Larvicidal Activity of Plant Extracts on Aedes aegypti (L.)
(Diptera: Culicidae), under Laboratory Conditions
André A.M. Coelho, José E. de Paula,
Laila S. Espíndola
Abstract
Dengue is a virus bourne
disease, chiefly transmitted
by Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae)
mosquitoes. Vector
control remains as the best prophylactics. However, some populations
have shown
significant levels of resistance to several pesticides, indicating the
need of
new insecticides for the control of these insects. Insecticidal
activity of 67 Cerrado
plant extracts were assayed on third instar
larvae of A. aegypti, under
laboratory conditions. For the extract application, ten larvae, in
triplicate,
were placed into Petri dish containing 20 ml of solution (500 μg/ml).
The insects were maintained at 28 ± 5°C, under 70
± 5% relative humidity and 12h
photophase. After 24 h the number of dead larvae was counted. The
dichloromethane extract of the leaves of Kielmeyera
coriacea Mart. (Clusiaceae) showed high toxicity against
larvae of A. aegypti with LC50
values of 112.79
µg/ml. These data
suggest that this
extract should be chemically investigated and monitored through
biological
assays in order to determine their insecticidal components that could
be used
as a molecular model or as biorational compounds for use in insect
control
programmes.
KEYWORDS - dengue mosquito, crude extract,
insect control, Kielmeyera
coriacea
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