Effect of Chloroxylon swietenia Dc bark extracts against Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and Anopheles stephensi larvae

Mosquitoes are the vector of more diseases and cause major health problems like malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and lymphatic filariasis. This article deals with the mosquito larvicidal activity of Chloroxylon swietenia Dc bark extracts against late third instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and Anopheles stephensi. Methanolic crude extract of Ch. swietenia bark was obtained by soxhlet apparatus and aqueous crude extract by cold percolation method. The range of concentrations of the crude extracts used was 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 ppm. The mortality and lethal concentration (LC50 and LC90) was calculated after a 24-h exposure period. Both the extracts showed trustworthy larvicidal activity. The larvicidal activity of the methanol extract of Ch. swietenia bark was higher than the aqueous extract, and the LC50 and the LC90 values of the methanol extract were found to be 124.70 and 226.26 mu g/ml (Ae. aegypti), 130.57 and 234.67 ppm (Cu. quinquefasciatus), and 137.55 and 246.09 ppm (An. stephensi). The LC50 and the LC90 values of the aqueous extract were found to be 133.10 and 238.93 ppm (Ae. aegypti), 136.45 and 242.47 ppm (Cu. quinquefasciatus), and 139.43 and 248.64 ppm (An. stephensi). No mortality was observed in the control. Methanolic crude extract Ch. swietenia bark shows higher activity against An. stephensi than the other two tested larvae and aqueous extract. The results of the present study propose a possible way for further investigations to find out the active molecule responsible for the larvicidal activity of Ch. swietenia bark extracts.