Mosquitocidal properties of Calotropis gigantea (Family: Asclepiadaceae) leaf extract and bacterial insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis, against the mosquito vectors

Abstract

Calotropis gigantea leaf extract and Bacillus thuringiensis were tested first to fourth-instar larvae and pupae of Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus. The medicinal plants were collected from the area around Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India. Calotropis gigantea leaf was washed with tap water and shade-dried at room temperature. An electrical blender powdered the dried plant materials (leaves). The powder 500 g of the leaf was extracted with 1.5 L of organic solvents of methanol for 8 h using a Soxhlet apparatus and filtered. The crude leaf extracts were evaporated to dryness in a rotary vacuum evaporator. The plant extract showed larvicidal and pupicidal effects after 24 h of exposure; no mortality was observed in the control group. For Calotropis gigantea, the median lethal concentration values (LC(50)) observed for the larvicidal and pupicidal activities against mosquito vector species Anopheles stephensi I to IV larval instars and pupae were 73.77, 89.64, 121.69, 155.49, and 213.79 ppm; Aedes aegypti values were 92.27, 106.60, 136.48, 164.01, and 202.56 ppm; and Culex quinquefasciatus values were 104.66, 127.71, 173.75, 251.65, and 314.70 ppm, respectively. For B. thuringiensis, the LC(50) values of I to IV larval instars and pupae of Anopheles stephensi were 37.24, 45.41, 57.82, 80.09, and 98.34 ppm; Aedes aegypti values were 42.38, 51.90, 71.02, 96.17, and 121.59 ppm; and Culex quinquefasciatus values were 55.85, 68.07, 94.11, 113.35, and 133.87 ppm, respectively. The study proved that the methanol leaf extract of Calotropis gigantea and bacterial insecticide B. thuringiensis has mosquitocidal property and was evaluated as target species of mosquito vectors. This is an ideal ecofriendly approach for the control of vector control programs.

Calotropis gigantiea (L.) R. Br (Apocynaceae): A phytochemical and pharmacological review

“…The larval and pupal mortalities after the treatment with Bacillus thuringiensis for Aedes aegypti (larvae; 31% (20 ppm) to 86% (100 ppm)); (pupae; 10% (20 ppm) to 38% (100 ppm)) and Culex quinquefasciatus (larvae; 27% (20 ppm) to 81% (100 ppm)) followed dose dependent relationship. The study revealed that methanolic extract of Cg is having mosquitocidal activity (Kovendan et al, 2012).…”

Review article on <i>Calotropis</i> (Wara): Is it a miracle shrub or just a plant?

“…Antimicrobial activity of latex against pathogenic microorganisms (Kumar et al, 2010a;Kumar et al, 2011;Kovendan et al, 2012;Gaur et al, 2013). In vitro antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract of the C. gigantea against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus luteus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella typhi and Micrococcus luteus strains has been conducted and the extract has been shown significant effect on the tested organisms (Kumar et al, 2010a, b, c;Aarti, 2014).…”

“…Mosquitocidal, larvicidal and pupicidal properties of medically important mosquito vector species; Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus have been studied (Neraliya and Srivastava, 1996;Moustafa and Sarah, 2017). A study revealed the ethanol extract of leaf of C. gigantea is an ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of vector (Kovendan et al, 2012). A decoction of leaf along with soap is an effective remedy for white ants (Ranade and Acharya, 2014).…”

Survey of entomopathogenic nematodes and associate bacteria in Thailand and their potential to control Aedes aegypti

“…The use of B. thuringiensis to control Aedes spp. has been reported, with varying effects against larvae (Araújo et al, ; Gonzalez, Harburguer, González‐Audino, & Masuh, ; Kovendan et al, ). Recently, synergism between B. turingiensis or its toxin and Xenorhabdus or Photorhabdus bacteria was found to be effective against mosquito larvae in the laboratory (Park, Kyo, & Kim, ).…”

“…The use of B. thuringiensis to control Aedes spp. has been reported, with varying effects against larvae (Araújo et al, 2013;Gonzalez, Harburguer, González-Audino, & Masuh, 2016;Kovendan et al, 2012).…”