Chemical analysis, repellent, larvicidal, and oviposition deterrent activities of plant essential oils against Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae, and Culex quinquefasciatus
Muhammad Ghazanfar Abbas, Muhammad Binyameen, Muhammad Azeem, Shahid Majeed, Zahid Mehmood Sarwar, Abdul Nazir, Mahar Muhammad Imran Sharif, Amna Parveen, Raimondas Mozūratis
Abstract
Plant-based essential oils have gained attention as a natural alternative for controlling mosquitoes due to their repellent, larvicidal and oviposition deterrent properties. We tested repellent, larvicidal, and oviposition deterrent effects of essential oils (EOs) of Mentha sp icata (L.), Ocimum basilicum (L.), and Abutilon indicum (L.) against three mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) including Aedes aegypti (L.), Anopheles gambiae s. l. Giles, and Culex quinquefasciatus Say by using contact-based technique. In screening bioassays, M. sp icata I , M. sp icata II , O. basilicum I , O. basilicum II , and A. indicum EOs showed higher repellency against Cx. quinquefasciatus as compared to Ae. aegypti and An. gambiae when tested at 33.3 μg/cm 2 . In time-span bioassays performed at 33.3 μg/cm 2 , EO of M. sp icata I exhibited 100% repellence up to 45, 30, and 75 min against Ae. aegypti , An. gambiae , and Cx. quinquefasciatus , respectively. Interestingly, at this tested dose, M. sp icata I and M. sp icata II showed higher repellence compared to DEET against Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus after 45 and 75 min, respectively. Their repellency was observed up to 150 and 210 min against Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus , respectively. In larvicidal bioassays, M. sp icata I EO proved more toxic against 2 nd instar larvae of Ae. aegypti , An. gambiae , and Cx. quinquefasciatus (LC 50 = 11.0, 42.9, and 12.6 mg/L, respectively) compared to other tested EOs. In oviposition bioassays, M. sp icata I exhibited the highest activity, showing 60%, 46%, and 79% oviposition deterrence against Ae. aegypti , An. gambiae , and Cx. quinquefasciatus , respectively, tested at a dose of 600 µg/cm 2 . Major compounds of M. sp icata I , M. sp icata II , O. basilicum I , and O. basilicum II EOs were piperitenone oxide (38.8%), piperitone oxide (35.4%), estragole (55.3%), and linalool (43.8%), respectively. In conclusion, M. sp icata EO could be used to control mosquitoes and their bites.