Mosquito Ovicidal Properties of Ageratina Adenophora (family: Asteraceae) against Filariasis Vector, Culex Quinquefasciatus (diptera: Culicidae)

Mosquito-borne diseases with an economic impact create loss in commercial and labor outputs, particularly in countries with tropical and subtropical climates. Mosquito control is facing a threat because of the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. Extracts from plants may be alternative sources of mosquito control agents because they constitute a rich source of bioactive compounds that are biodegradable into nontoxic products and potentially suitable for use to control mosquitoes. Insecticides of botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. In view of the recently increased interest in developing plant origin insecticides as an alternative to chemical insecticide, this study was undertaken to assess the ovicidal potential of the crude hexane, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol solvent extracts from the medicinal plant Ageratina adenophora (A. adenophora) against the filariasis vector, Culex quinquefasciatus (Cx. quinquefasciatus) (Diptera: Culicidae). Ovicidal activity was determined against Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquito to various concentrations ranging from 75-450 mg/L under the laboratory conditions. All the five solvents extracts showed moderate ovicidal activity; however, the methanol extract showed the highest ovicidal activity. One hundred percent mortality was observed at 375 mg/L. These results suggest that the plant extracts have the potential to be used as an ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of mosquitoes. This study provides first report on the mosquito ovicidal activity of A. adenophora plant extracts against filariasis vector, Cx. quinquefasciatus.