Ethanolic extracts of Cynodon dactylon, Aloe vera, Hemidesmus indicus and Coleus amboinicus were tested for their toxicity effect on the third-instar larvae of Anopheles stephensi, Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. The leaves of C. dactylon, A. vera, H. indicus and C. amboinicus were collected from natural habitats (forests) in Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 250 g of fresh, mature leaves were rinsed with distilled water and dried in shade. The dried leaves were put in Soxhlet apparatus and extract prepared using 100% ethanol for 72 h at 30-40°C. Dried residues were obtained from 100 g of extract evaporated to dryness in rotary vacuum evaporator. Larvicidal properties of ethanolic leaf extracts showed that the extracts are effective as mosquito control agents. The larval mortality was observed after 24 h exposure. No mortality was observed in the control. The median lethal concentration (LC(50)) values observed for the larvicidal activities are 0.44%, 0.51%, 0.59% and 0.68% for extracts of C. dactylon, A. vera, H. indicus and C. amboinicus, respectively. The observed mortality were statistically significant at P < 0.05 level. C. dactylon showed the highest mortality rate against the three species of mosquito larvae in laboratory and field. The selected plants were shown to exhibit water purification properties. Water quality parameters such as turbidity, pH and water clarity were analyzed in the water samples (pre-treatment and post-treatment of plant extracts) taken from the different breeding sites of mosquitoes. Water colour, turbidity and pH were reduced significantly after treatment with C. dactylon (13 HU, 31.5 mg/l and 6.9), H. indicus (13.8 HU, 33 mg/l and 7.1), A. vera (16 HU, 33.8 mg/l and 7.4) and C. amboinicus (21 HU, 35 mg/l and 7.5) extracts. The study proved that the extracts of C. dactylon, A. vera, H. indicus and C. amboinicus have both mosquitocidal and water sedimentation properties.
Dihydropyrimidinones, a Biginelli compound, have been found to be a tumor inhibitor in the last decade. The novel carbon quantum dot- dihydropyrimidinone (CQD-DHPM) nanocomposites have been prepared by a simple...
Polyetheramines belong to a class of green di‐block copolymer with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide moieties along with terminal amine functionality. The polymers are biocompatible and show temperature dependant phase separation properties. Herein, we report the effect of a polyetheramine (Jeffamine®) on the catalytic properties of a well studied polyoxometalate catalysts, phosphotungstic acid (PTA). The catalytic reaction chosen for the test is the hydrogen peroxide‐mediated oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BzOH). Modification of PTA with Jeffamine® (PTA‐Jeffamine®) resulted in a solvent‐less liquid‐like material accessible to a wide range of solvents. The PTA‐Jeffamine® catalyst was observed to enhance the conversion of BzOH compared to that of pristine PTA and facilitated easy separation of benzaldehyde (BzH) and catalyst from reaction mixture. Stability of synthesized BzH was studied with gas chromatography attached with mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). Synthesis of the catalyst is cost‐effective and scalable due to easy availability of the individual components and nature of the synthetic protocol. UV‐visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) were used to characterize the catalyst. Surface tension experiment, FE‐SEM, ICP‐MS and controlled experiments were performed to understand the effect of Jeffamine® in the catalytic process.
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