- International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology (2014) Volume 2, Issue 3

Ovicidal Efficacy of Ageratina Adenophora (Family:Asteraceae) Against Anopheles Stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae)

Mosquitoes are blood-feeding insects and serve as the most important vectors for spreading human diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and filariasis. The continued use of synthetic insecticides has resulted in resistance in mosquitoes. Synthetic insecticides are toxic and affect the environment by contaminating soil, water, and air, and then natural products may be an alternative to synthetic insecticides because they are effective, biodegradable, eco-friendly, and safe to environment. Botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. The ovicidal efficacy of different extracts of Ageratina adenophora (A. adenophora) against Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi) (Diptera: Culicidae). Larvicidal efficacy of the crude leaf extracts of A. adenophora with five different solvents like hexane, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol was tested against the early third instar larvae of An. stephensi. The ovicidal activity was determined against An. stephensi mosquito species to various concentrations ranging from 75-450 mg/L under the laboratory conditions. Among five solvent extracts tested, the methanol extract have most promising ovicidal activity. The methanol extract exerted zero hatchability (100% mortality) at 300 mg/L. From the results it can be concluded the crude extract of A. adenophora was a potential for controlling An. stephensi mosquito eggs.

Author(s): M. Rajeswary, M. Govindarajan, K. Murugan, Jiang-Shiou Hwang3, Donald R. Barnard, A. Amsath and U. Muthukumaran

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