Abstract
Etlingera fenzlii (Kurz) Skronick. & M. Sabu (Zingiberaceae), is an endemic species of the Andaman Nicobar Islands which is exclusively used by the Shompens as a bee repellent for honey collection. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of leaves of E. fenzlii and the volatile constituents of leaves have proved to be effective eco-friendly and possess varying degrees of insect/ pest controlling properties. The present study was focussed on the role of larvicidal activities of the essential oil of E. fenzlii against Aedes aegypti. Larvicidal study was carried out employing WHO standard method and the mortality was observed after 24 h exposure. Larvicidal tests were carried out with the essential oil concentration ranges from 5-50 ppm. Essential oil treatment had higher mortality as compared to control with LC50 value of 11.22 ppm. From the results, it is evident that E. fenzlii can be considered as effective larvicide, signifying an ecofriendly method for the control of mosquito vectors.
Highlights
Mosquitoes are important vector for transmission of many dreadful human diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya and filariasis, and are consider the greatest health problems for humans across the globe [1, 2]
The present study focuses on the larvicidal potential of essential oil of E. fenzlii against dengue vector A. aegypti
The essential oil induced complete mortality at concentrations of 200 and 100 ppm in pilot study, mortality rates were calculated at reduced concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 25 and 50 ppm
Summary
Mosquitoes are important vector for transmission of many dreadful human diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya and filariasis, and are consider the greatest health problems for humans across the globe [1, 2]. Shompens are one of the mangoloid tribes of Andaman Nicobar Islands and their major food is fruit of screw pines and honey from wild bees During their honey collection, they chew the plant parts of E. fenzlii and spit out the sap filled in the mouth as coarse spray on beehives which tranquilize the honey bees and protect them from bee stings [17]. The chemical characterization on essential oils of the species carried out proved that E. fenzlii has effective repellent or tranquilizing property towards insects [18]. In this context, the present study focuses on the larvicidal potential of essential oil of E. fenzlii against dengue vector A. aegypti
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