Plant oils in the fight against the West Nile Vector, Culex pipiens

• Published in: International journal of tropical insect science 2022-06, Vol.42 (3), p.2373-2380
• Main Authors: Baz, Mohamed M, Selim, Abdelfattah M, Radwan, Ibrahim T, Khater, Hanem F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic insects; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Control programs; Culex pipiens; Daucus carota; Entomology; Insect control; Larvae; Larvicides; Life Sciences; Mosquitoes; Ocimum basilicum; Oils & fats; Original Research Article; Peppers; Syzygium aromaticum; Vector-borne diseases; Wheat
• ISSN: 1742-7592; 1742-7584; 1742-7592
• DOI: 10.1007/s42690-022-00762-1

Controlling mosquitoes naturally and safely to avoid mosquito-borne diseases is an urgent need. Plant oils are a promising source for mosquito control. The larvicidal effects of 18 oils were evaluated against the early 4 th larvae, Culex pipiens . All oils showed larvicidal activity (55 to 100%, 24 h post-treatment with 2000 ppm for 24 h). The efficacy of oils was classified as the highly effective group (H group) inducing 95-100% mortalities, including six oils: Azadirachta indica, Cyperus alternifolius, Lupinus luteus , Lactuca sativa, M. alternifolia, and Persea americana (MO% = 98.33, 100, 98.33, 98.33, 100, and 95%, respectively). Their LC 50 values were 588.31, 496.96, 677.45, 611.60, 445.28, and 646.34 ppm, respectively; whereas their LC 99 values were 1601.14, 1331.06, 1953.29, 1667.27, 1342.56, and 1725.94 ppm, respectively. The moderately effective group (83-93% mortalities) included Syzygium aromaticum, Capsicum annuum, Aloe vera, Nigella sativa, Phyllanthus emblica, Citrullus colocynthis, Daucus carota, Carthamus glaucus , Ocimum basilicum , and Triticum aestivum . Their LC 50 values ranged from 762.39 ( S. aromaticum ) to 1043.59 ppm ( T. aestivum ). The least effective group included P. armeniaca (55%) and Allium cepa (78%) . The novel larvicidal activity of seven oils ( C. glaucus, C. alternifolius, D. carota, L. sativa, M. alternifolia, P. armeniaca and T. aestivum ) against larvae of Cx. pipiens was reported for the first time in this investigation. Our findings demonstrate the potential of M. alternifolia, and C. alternifolius followed by A. indica, L. luteus, or L. sativa as the most potent larvicides that could be used for integrated mosquito control programs.