MEDICINAL PLANT EXTRACTS: CONTROL STRATEGY AGAINST DENGUE MOSQUITOES

Study was made to know the bioactivity of five medicinal plants, viz., eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), neem (Azadirachta indica), ginger (Zingiber officinale), basil (Ocimum basilicum) and peppermint (Mentha piperita) against Aedes aegypti mosquito. Mosquitoes were reared in laboratory. The extracts were examined for their larvicidal and pupicidal activities with different concentrations (viz, 100, 200, 300 and 400 ppm) for each plant extract after different time intervals (viz. 8, 16, 24 and 48 hrs) using WHO protocol. Greater death rate was seen in early life stages than older ones. Maximum mortality (99%) was observed with eucalyptus and mint oil in early instar larvae (1st and 2nd) and least with ginger extracts. Least LC50 was recorded 102 ppm for 48 hrs in case of early instar larvae from eucalyptus extract while highest was 601 ppm for peppermint extract in case of pupae. Ginger oil showed superiority amongst the remaining extracts in case of LT50 values.