Bioactivity of selected plant essential oils against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti larvae.
The bioactivity of 14 essential oils from five plants has been studied using the brine shrimp lethality test and the Aedes aegypti larvicidal assay. All essential oils screened had LC50 values smaller than 200 microg/ml, showing significant lethality against brine shrimp. In addition, nine of the 14 essential oils tested showed toxicity against the fourth-instar A. aegypti larvae in 24 h (LC50<100 microg/ml). Of these, the leaf and bark essential oils of Cryptomeria japonica demonstrated high larvicidal activity, the most active being the leaf essential oil of C. japonica, with a LC50=37.6 microg/ml (LC90=71.9 microg/ml), followed by the bark essential oil of C. japonica also showing high activity against A. aegypti larvae, with a LC50=48.1 microg/ml (LC90=130.3 microg/ml). The results obtained from this study suggest that the leaf and bark essential oils of C. japonica are promising as larvicides against A. aegypti larvae and could be useful in the search for new natural larvicidal compounds.
Cheng
Sen-Sung
SS
Department of Forestry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Chang
Hui-Ting
HT
Chang
Shang-Tzen
ST
Tsai
Kun-Hsien
KH
Chen
Wei-June
WJ
D000330:Aedes / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000187:drug effects; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils