Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Environmental Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Environmental Research, Ain Shams University
2
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University.
Abstract
To minimize the negative impacts of chemical insecticides on public health, eight extracts (ethanolic – aqueous) of four plants were determined against the 3rd larval instar of Culex pipens. After 24 hrs of treatment, the eight plant extracts showed larvicidal activity with LC50 values of 357, 519, 569, 579, 717, 2268, 2371 and 2544 ppm for ethanolic Allium sativum, aqueous Allium sativum, ethanolic Punica granatum, ethanolic Nerium oleander, aqueous Nerium oleander, aqueous Punica granatum, ethanolic Cinnamomum camphora and aqueous Cinnamomum camphora, respectively. The treated third instar larvae of Culex pipiens exhibited significant responsiveness to all tested plant extracts, demonstrating notable alterations in metabolic activity compared to the untreated control group. Exposure to the extracts resulted in substantial reductions in total protein and carbohydrate levels, with changes of -104% and -75.5%, respectively, relative to the control. Among the tested extracts, aqueous Cinnamomum camphora showed the highest inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), with a change of 95.3% from the control. Ethanolic Punica granatum extract was the most potent in suppressing glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, showing a 66.4% change from control levels. The most effective extract against α-esterase was ethanolic Allium sativum, with a 47.6% change, while β-esterase activity was most affected by ethanolic Punica granatum, with a 30% reduction compared to the control. Results show that the tested plant extracts used were possible promising as a larvicidal agents against Culex pipiens, naturally occurring biopesticide could be an alternative for chemical insecticides.
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