Larvicidal activity of the essential oil from Lippia sidoides Cham. Against Aedes aegypti linn.
The aim of this work was to study the larvicidal activity of Lippia sidoides essential oil against Aedes aegypti larvae. The essential oil and its hydrolate (saturated solution of essential oil in water) were obtained by vapor extraction and their chemical composition determined by GL-chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy. Bioassays were run with the essential oil, pure and diluted hydrolate and with their main constituents thymol and carvacrol. The results obtained showed that L. sidoides essential oil and its hydrolate have larvicidal action against the mosquito A. aegypti, causing an almost instantaneous mortality. Thymol, an alkylated phenol derivative and one of the major components of L. sidoides essential oil, was identified as the active principle responsible for the larvicidal action, causing 100% larval mortality at the lowest tested concentration of 0.017% (w/v). These results suggest that the essential oil of L. sidoides is promising as larvicide against A. aegypti and could be useful in the search of newer, more selective, and biodegradable larvicidal natural compounds to be used in official combat programs and at home.
Carvalho
Ana Fontenele Urano
AF
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici 60455-900 Fortaleza, DE, Brasil. aurano@ufc.br
Melo
Vânia Maria Maciel
VM
Craveiro
Afrânio Aragão
AA
Machado
Maria Iracema Lacerda
MI
Bantim
Márcia Braga
MB
Rabelo
Emanuelle Fontenele
EF
D000330:Aedes / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D032411:Lippia / Q000737:chemistry*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000494:pharmacology*; D021261:Parasitic Sensitivity Tests; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*
D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils