Chemical composition and larvicidal activity of Blumea densiflora essential oils against Anopheles anthropophagus: a malarial vector mosquito

Blumea densiflora, an edible and medicinal plant, is chiefly distributed in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Essential oils extracted by steam distillation from B. densiflora were investigated for their chemical composition and larvicidal activity against Anopheles anthropophagus, the primary vector of malaria in China and other East Asian countries. Totally, 46 compounds were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. The major chemical compounds identified were borneol (11.43%), germacrene D (8.66%), beta-caryophyllene (6.68%), gamma-terpinene (4.35%), sabinene (4.34%), and beta-bisabolene (4.24%). A series of concentrations of essential oil (that ranged from 6.25 to 150 ppm) were tested against A. anthropophagus fourth-instar larvae according to WHO recommendation. In general, larval mortality increased as concentration and exposure time increased, indicating a dose-dependent effect, and high insecticidal activity showed that 100% mortality occurred within 6 h at 150 ppm, 10 h at 100 ppm, 30 h at 50 ppm, and 30 h at 25 ppm essential oil concentration. The LC50 values were 22.32 (after 12 h) and 10.55 ppm (after 24 h), and the LC90 values were 54.04 (after 12 h) and 33.56 ppm (after 24 h). Pylarvex, the reference standard, had better larvicidal activity, causing 100% mortality within 2 h at 150 ppm and within 6 h at 6.25 ppm. The results clearly reveal that the essential oil of B. densiflora served as a potential, eco-friendly mosquito larvicide against the malarial vector mosquito A. anthropophagus.