Abstract
Female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit Plasmodium parasites that cause human malaria. Currently, vector control is the most widely deployed approach to reduce mosquito population and hence disease transmission. This relies on use of insecticide-based interventions including Long-lasting Insecticide-treated Nets (LLINs) and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) where scale-up has contributed to a dramatic decline in malaria deaths and morbidity over the past decade. Challenges to their effective use include the emergence and spread of insecticide resistance by malaria vector populations coupled with the inability to curb outdoor transmission. Under these situations, use of larvicides through larval source management (LSM) can complement these existing measures. The need to minimize environmental impact and effect on non-target organisms has spurred interest in the development of eco-friendly larvicides of natural origin. Here, we review literature published in the last five years to highlight compounds of natural origin found to exhibit larvicidal activity against malaria mosquitoes. Specifically, the larvicidal activity of different classes of compounds is discussed including their effect on non-target organisms. Additionally, we provide suggestions for future research into mosquito larvicides including the use of chemical synthesis to improve the bioactivity of known natural compounds.
Highlights
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites which are transmitted between humans by infected female Anopheles mosquito (1)
The review reveals most compounds evaluated for larvicidal activity so far to belong to classes of terpenes and phenols
As highlighted in this review, biological sources such as micro- TM contributed to manuscript conception and design, literature organisms and plants contain considerable amounts of mosquito review, manuscript preparation
Summary
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites which are transmitted between humans by infected female Anopheles mosquito (1). Very few studies investigated the larvicidal effect of plant-derived compounds against dominant Afrotropical malaria vectors such as An. gambiae (20, 25), An. funestus and An. arabiensis (25). The potential interaction between components of whole plant extracts is demonstrated in a study by Wang et al (22), where out of the 17 compounds from Magnolia denudata seeds (Magnoliaceae) tested for activity against An. sinensis larvae only 12 were found to be more potent than the crude EO.
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