Anish Yadav

In Vitro Evaluation of Ethanolic Extracts of Ageratum conyzoides and Artemisia absinthium against Cattle Tick, Rhipicephalus microplus

In vitro efficacy of ethanolic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Ageratum conyzoides and Artemisia absinthium was assessed on Rhipicephalus microplus using adult immersion test (AIT). Five concentrations of the extract (1.25%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) with three replications for each concentration were used in the bioassay. In AIT, the maximum mortality was recorded as 40% and 66.7% at 20% concentration for A. conyzoides and A. absinthium, respectively. Acaricidal activity was found to be higher in the extract of A. absinthium with LC50 and LC95 values of 11.2% and 61.7%, respectively. Egg mass weight of the live ticks treated with different concentrations of the extracts was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than that of control ticks; consequently, the reproductive index and oviposition values of the treated ticks were reduced significantly (P < 0.05). The A. conyzoides inhibited 90% hatching of eggs at the 20% concentration, whereas A. absinthium showed 100% inhibition at 5%, 10%, and 20% concentrations. The results show that A. absinthium has better acaricidal properties than A. conyzoides and could be useful in controlling R. microplus.

In Vitro Acaricidal Activity of Atropa belladonna and Its Components, Scopolamine and Atropine, against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

In vitro efficacy of methanolic extract of Atropa belladonna and its components scopolamine and atropine was assessed against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Five concentrations of the extract (1.25%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) were used whereas scopolamine and atropine were each tested at 0.1%. In adult immersion test, the extract was lethal to ticks at 20% concentration. The LC50 and LC95 values were determined as 6.875% and 17.306%, respectively. The extract caused a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in egg mass production at 10% concentration. In larval packet test, the extract was lethal to larvae in the concentrations of 10% and 20% after 24 h, with LC50 and LC95 values of 1.321% and 4.935%, respectively. Scopolamine and atropine showed 93.3% and 60.0% mortality of adult ticks, respectively, but they caused complete (100%) blocking of hatching as well as 100% larval mortality. Scopolamine and atropine were observed to be more potent than the crude extract at an equivalent concentration in both the bioassays.

In vitro acaricidal activity of Piper nigrum and Piper longum fruit extracts and their active components against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus ticks

In vitro acaricidal activity of Piper nigrum and P. longum fruit extracts and their active components (piperine for P. nigrum and piperine and piperlonguminine for P. longum) was evaluated against adults engorged females of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus using adult immersion test. Three concentrations of each extract with four replications were used in the bioassay. Extracts significantly affected mortality rates of ticks in dose-dependent manner ranged 12.5–95.8% for P. nigrum and 29.2–87.5% for P. longum, with an additional effect on the reproductive physiology of ticks by inhibiting oviposition (28.1–96.9% by P. nigrum and 36.1–89.3% by P. longum). However, the acaricidal and oviposition limiting properties were decreased significantly when the active component(s) of each extract was tested separately. However, the combination of piperine and piperlonguminine (obtained from P. longum extract) caused 79.2% mortality of ticks which is equivalent to the corresponding concentration (~ 5%) of the extract. It can be concluded that the fruit extracts of P. nigrum and P. longum had both acaricidal and oviposition limiting actions against the adults of R. (B.) microplus which could make it a valuable component of developing sustainable strategy for integrated tick management.

Occurrence of Chrysomya bezziana in a buffalo in Jammu

Cutaneous myiasis caused by the Old World screw-worm fly, Chrysomya bezziana, is a commonly occurring infestation of livestock and man in Southeast Asian and African countries. A buffalo, aged five years was presented with traumatic wound in the abnormal growth at the base of tail, housing maggots in it. Based on morphological features, the collected larvae were identified as C. bezziana larvae. The first ever occurrence of C. bezziana in a buffalo from this part of country and its public health significance have been discussed.