The Egg Hatchability and The Development of Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes in Ethanol Extracts of The Leaves of Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.) and Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Abstract

The botanical insecticides acquired from the ethanol extracts of the leaves of Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.) and Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) has been conducted on dengue fever mosquitoes’ vector of Aedes aegypti by observing the parameters; hatchability of eggs-larvae, the development of larvae-pupae, and pupae-adult using a complete randomized design (CRD) factorial, 5 iterations, with 6 concentration treatments (0, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 ppm) on 25 eggs of A. aegypti, and parameters of secondary metabolite contents with quantitative screening methods. The results showed that the hatchability of eggs-larvae and the development of A. aegypti larvae were compared with control level of 0% in all concentration treatments of the ethanol extracts of bitter melon and basil are decreasing, namely; hatchability rate of eggs-larva decreases to 24% - 64% and 32% - 68% in the ethanol extracts of Bitter Melon and Basil respectively; the development of larvae-pupae declines to 32% - 80% in Bitter Melon and to 40% - 84% in Basil’s ethanol extract. However, there is no downturn in the development of pupae-adult (100%) with effective concentration at 800 ppm. The results of phytochemical screening showed that there were 5 secondary metabolites (alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, tannins, saponins) in the ethanol extract of Bitter Melon, and two metabolites (Flavonoids, Tanin) in Basil.