Chemical Composition of Zanthoxylum avicennae Essential Oil and its Larvicidal Activity on Aedes albopictus Skuse

Xin Chao Liu,Qi Yong Liu,Quan Ru Liu,Ligang Zhou,Zhi Long Liu

doi:10.4314/tjpr.v13i3.13

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the larvicidal activity of the essential oil derived from Zanthoxylum avicennae (Lam.) DC. (Rutaceae) leaves and stems against the larvae of Aedes albopictus Skuse．Methods: Essential oil of Z. avicennae leaves and stems were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromaotography-mas spectrometry (GC-MS). The activity of the essential oil was evaluated, using World Health Organization (WHO) procedures, against the fourth larvae of A. albopictus for 24 h and larval mortality recorded at various essential oil concentrations ranging from 12.5 - 200 μg/mL.Results: A total of 31 components of the essential oil of Z. avicennae were identified. The essential oil had higher content of monoterpenoids (65.70 %) than sesquiterpenoids (33.45 %). The principal compounds of the essential oil were 1,8-cineol (53.05 %), β-elemene (6.13 %), α-caryophyllene (5.96%), β-caryophyllene (5.09 %) and caryophyllene oxide (4.59 %). The essential oil exhibited larvicidal activity against A. albopictus with a median lethal concentration (LC50) value of 48.79 μg/mL.Conclusion: The findings obtained indicate that the essential oil of Z. avicennae has potentials for use in the control of A. albopictus larvae and could be useful in the search for newer, safer and more effective natural compounds as larvicides.Keywords: Aedes albopictus, Essential oil, Larvicidal activity, Mosquito, Zanthoxylum avicennae

Highlights

Beyond their itchy, irritating bites, mosquitoes are vectors for some of humanity’s most deadly illnesses, such as yellow fever, dengue fever, malaria, several forms of encephalitis and filariasis
Of the whole essential oil while 14 of the 31 constituents were sesquiterpenoids corresponding to 33.45 % of the essential oil of
The above results suggest that there were some variations in chemical composition of essential oil of Z. avicennae collected from different sites and from different parts of the plants

Summary

Introduction

Beyond their itchy, irritating bites, mosquitoes are vectors for some of humanity’s most deadly illnesses, such as yellow fever, dengue fever, malaria, several forms of encephalitis and filariasis. Chemical composition of the essential oil of Z. avicennae has been determined [1416]. The essential oil possessed strong larvicidal activity against the 4th instar larvae of A. albopictus with a LC50 value of 48.79 μg/mL (Table 2).

Results

Conclusion