Lethal Effects of Calotropis procera Leaves Extract on Mosquito Larvae

Abstract

Calotropis procera, is a medicinal plant that is widely reported to have antibacterial, antiparasitic, larvicidal and insecticidal properties. This study is aimed at evaluating the larvicidal potentials of C. procera on mosquito larvae of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. The plant leaves were collected locally and extracted using petroleum ether as solvent. Four varying concentrations were made using dilution method to test larvicidal activity on 4th instar larva of the aforementioned species of mosquito. It was observed that the plant extract was lethal against both species of mosquito. The results also showed that mortality of the mosquito larvae increased as the concentration of the extract increases. Furthermore, probit analysis of the results shows that the median lethal concentration LC50 of C. procera extract on Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus are 0.116mg/ml and 0.249 respectively. This means that Culex quinquefasciatus is more susceptible to the plant extracts. It is evident from this study that C. procera has larvicidal properties that can be considered in the production of an affordable plant based larvicide. Since C. procera is known to naturally grow in the wild; it will therefore require lesser resources to be cultivated domestically. We recommend that further studies should be conducted on the plant to explore its full potential.