Screening of Plant Extracts Against a Vector of Arboviruses, Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Aedes aegypti is a vector mosquito of dengue haemorrhagic fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, zika, filariasis and other viral infectious disease-causing pathogens. We tested ethanol extracts of the six plant species viz., Cassia fistula, Curcuma amada, Manilkara zapota, Momordica charantia, Sansevieria trifasciata and Solanum indicum at dosages of 25, 50, 75 and 100% for their larvicidal effect against the third instar larva of A. aegypti. We observed maximum larval mortality and minimum LC50, LC90, and LC99 in C. amada (LC50\u2009=\u20090.14, LC90\u2009=\u20099.28 and LC99\u2009=\u2009277.97) among the tested plant extracts. All the extracts caused moderate to high larval mortality, and hence, these plant extracts could be a substitute source for A. aegypti control as they comprise a potential source of bioactive chemicals and generally free from toxicants. Applications of these natural derivatives in A. aegypti control could reduce the cost of control methods and environmental contamination.