Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles from Ocimum sanctum against Mosquito Vectors for Malaria and Dengue

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases such as malaria, filariasis, yellow fever, dengue, and Japanese encephalitis are major illnesses in in tropical countries. The main objective of this study was to investigate the larvicidal activity of synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) utilizing aqueous leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum against fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi. The present study was carried out to establish the larvicidal activity of synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using leaf aqueous extract of Ocimum sanctum against fourth instar larvae of dengue and malaria vector. The larval mortality was observed after different time of exposures. Further, characterization such as XRD and SEM analysis were carried out for the synthesized silver nanoparticles. The mortality values were obtained using the probit analysis. The larvae of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi were found to be highly susceptible for the silver nanoparticles. The larvae have shown 100% mortality against the silver nanoparticles, whereas fourth instar larvae have shown efficacy (LC50) after 24 and 48 hr. The characterization studies of synthesized AgNPs by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), of silver nanoparticles along with stability. In conclusions, the findings revealed that synthesized AgNPs possess excellent mosquito larvicidal activity. These results suggest that the green synthesis of AgNPs have the potential to be used as an ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of head lice and vectors.