Effect of Ageratum houstonianum Mill. (Asteraceae) leaf extracts on the oviposition activity of Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae).
Plant extracts have been studied extensively for their insecticidal activity against immature stages and adult mosquitoes. They have also been reported to influence the habitat preference of ovipositing mosquitoes. Ageratum houstonianum, a medicinal plant belonging to the family Asteraceae, has been reported to possess insecticidal activity, and in the present study, the ovipositional attractant/deterrent activity was studied. The effect of Ageratum houstonianum crude leaf extracts on the oviposition of Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus was studied at 0.1 % concentration in laboratory. Among hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol crude leaf extracts, methanol showed an effective deterrent activity against all the three vector species with an oviposition active index of -0.8, -0.8 and -0.9, respectively. Field trials carried out to study the effect of 0.1 % methanol extract on oviposition of Aedes species indicated effective deterrence ranging from 79.0 to 100.0 % in indoor and 74.6 to 100.0 % in outdoor ovitraps. The potential oviposition deterrent property of Ageratum houstonianum crude leaf extracts observed in both laboratory and field studies indicates the presence of phytocompounds that act as effective contact deterrent. Further, isolation, identification and preparation of suitable formulation of the effective phytocompounds of Ageratum houstonianum that act as a contact deterrent are required.
Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Chennai, 600 059 Tamil Nadu, India samtennyson@gmail.com
Samuel
S
Tennyson
K John
KJ
Ravindran
Alex
A
Eapen
S John
SJ
William
D000330:Aedes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D031163:Ageratum / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003465:Culex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010058:Oviposition / Q000187:drug effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry
D007302:Insect Repellents; D010936:Plant Extracts