An ethnobotanical survey was undertaken to collect information from traditional healers on the use of medicinal plants in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu during October 2003 to April 2004. The indigenous knowledge of local traditional healers and the native plants used for medicinal purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during field trips.The investigation revealed that, the traditional healers used 85 species of plants distributed in 76 genera belonging to 41 families to treat various diseases. The documented medicinal plants were mostly used to cure skin diseases, poison bites, stomachache and nervous disorders. In this study the most dominant family was Euphorbiaceae and leaves were most frequently used for the treatment of diseases.This study showed that many people in the studied parts of Kancheepuram district still continue to depend on medicinal plants at least for the treatment of primary healthcare. The traditional healers are dwindling in number and there is a grave danger of traditional knowledge disappearing soon since the younger generation is not interested to carry on this tradition.
Efficacy of 25 essential oils was screened against filarial vector, <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i>, for their larvicidal and knockdown effects in a preliminary study. Of these, 8 oils viz. calamus oil, cinnamon oil, citronella oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, lemon oil, mentha oil and orange oil exhibited 100% larvicidal activity at 1000 ppm and 100% knockdown effect at 10% concentration. These 8 oils were screened further against <i>Cx. Quinquefasciatus</i>, <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Anopheles stephensi</i> for their larvicial and knockdown effects at different concentrations. Mentha oil was the most promising against <i>An. Stephensi</i> and <i>Ae. Aegypti</i> recording LC<sub>50</sub> and LC<sub>90</sub> values of 39.74 and 115.67 ppm and 46.23 and 165.36 ppm, respectively for larvicidal activity. Calamus oil was the most effective against <i>Cx. Quinquefasciatus</i> with LC<sub>50</sub> and LC<sub>90</sub> values of 40.40, and 140.07 ppm, respectively for larvicidal activity. Orange oil showed the most potent knockdown effect with the KT<sub>50</sub> and KT<sub>95</sub> values of 27.44, 26.22 and 29.91 and 70.81, 65.33 and 68.57 min, against <i>An. stephensi, Cx. Quinquefasciatus</i> and <i>Ae. Aegypti</i>, respectively. The results clearly indicated that mentha oil and calamus oil were the most promising larvicides and orange oil had potent knockdown effect against the tested mosquito species. These oils could be used to develop a new formulation to control mosquitoes
Larvicidal activity of 12 fractions and a compound of chloroform extract of Clerodendrum phlomidis L. (Lamiaceae) was assayed for their toxicity against the early fourth-instar larvae of the filarial vector Culex quinquefasciatus Say and dengue vector Aedes aegypti L. The fractions were tested at 100-, 50-, 25- and 12.5-ppm concentrations. The compound pectolinaringenin was tested at 5-, 2.5-, 1.0- and 0.5-ppm concentrations. Among the different fractions, fraction 5 recorded the lowest LC(50) and LC(90) values of 5.02, 61.63 ppm and 32.86, 73.62 ppm against C. quinquefasciatus and A. aegypti, respectively. The compound pectolinaringenin showed the lowest LC(50) and LC(90) values of 0.62, 2.87 ppm and 0.79, 5.31 ppm against C. quinquefasciatus and A. aegypti, respectively. This is the first report on the mosquito larvicidal activity of the isolated compound pectolinaringenin from C. phlomidis. The results of this study show that the chloroform extract of C. phlomidis can be used as a potent source and pectolinaringenin as a new natural mosquito larvicidal agent.
As per our knowledge, this is the first report for ovicidal activity of A. monophylla against S. litura, A. monophylla could be used for the management of S. litura and other insect pests.
The effects of crude extracts and an isolated compound from the leaves of milkweed, Pergularia daemia (Forssk) Choiv., on the antifeedant activity against two important lepidopteran pests, Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) and Spodoptera litura (F.), were studied. Maximum antifeedant activity was recorded in ethyl acetate crude extract against H. armigera (70.3%) and S. litura (71.82%) at 1% concentration. Ethyl acetate crude extract was further subjected to column chromatography, which was performed using hexane as initial solvent and then by increasing the polar strength using ethyl acetate. Fractions collected at hexane and ethyl acetate (80:20) yielded 6-(4,7-hydroxy-heptyl) quinone, a novel compound which showed significant antifeedant activity against H. armigera (80.22% at 2000 ppm) and S. litura (68.31% at 2000 ppm).
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