Larvicidal Efficacy of Different Plant Parts of Railway Creeper, Ipomoea cairica Extract Against Dengue Vector Mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Natural insecticides from plant origin against mosquito vectors have been the main concern for research due to their high level of eco-safety. Control of mosquitoes in their larval stages are an ideal method since Aedes larvae are aquatic, thus it is easier to deal with them in this habitat. The present study was specifically conducted to explore the larvicidal efficacy of different plant parts of Ipomoea cairica (L.) or railway creeper crude extract obtained using two different solvents; methanol and acetone against late third-stage larvae of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). Plant materials of I. cairica leaf, flower, and stem were segregated, airdried, powdered, and extracted using Soxhlet apparatus. Larvicidal bioassays were performed by using World Health Organization standard larval susceptibility test method for each species which were conducted separately for different concentration ranging from 10 to 450 ppm. Both acetone and methanol extracts showed 100% mortality at highest concentration tested (450 ppm) after 24 h of exposure. Results from factorial ANOVA indicated that there were significant differences in larvicidal effects between mosquito species, solvent used and plant parts (F = 5.71, df = 2, P < 0.05). The acetone extract of I. cairica leaf showed the most effective larvicidal action in Ae. aegypti with LC50 of 101.94 ppm followed by Ae. albopictus with LC50 of 105.59 ppm compared with other fractions of I. cairica extract obtained from flower, stem, and when methanol are used as solvent. The larvae of Ae. aegypti appeared to be more susceptible to I. cairica extract with lower LC50 value compared with Ae. albopictus (F = 8.83, df = 1, P < 0.05). Therefore, this study suggests that the acetone extract of I. cairica leaf can be considered as plant-derived insecticide for the control of Aedes mosquitoes. This study quantified the larvicidal property of I. cairica extract, providing information on lethal concentration that may have potential for a more eco-friendly Aedes mosquito control program.