African Journal of Malaria and Tropical Diseases

African Journal of Malaria and Tropical Diseases ISSN 4123-0981 Vol. 3 (6), pp. 172-175, June, 2015. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

An evaluation of the larvicidal activity of aqueous and methanolic extracts from clove, Eugenia caryophyllata Thunberg (Myrtaceae), and the efficacy of their chemical component against malaria and dengue mosquito vectors

*Gustavo da P. Arthur, Aline B. Josue, Hugo Luiz Henrique and Witerson U. Macauly

¹Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia e Recursos Naturais, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 15 May, 2015

Abstract

Malaria and dengue are the cause of a heavy public health burden in the Amazon region. The present work evaluated the larvicidal activity of aqueous and methanolic extracts from clove, Eugenia caryophyllata Thunberg (Myrtaceae), and a chemical component are found in cloves, eugenol, against malaria and dengue mosquito vectors. Bioassays were carried out with these extracts and eugenol on Anopheles darlingi Root, 1926 and Aedes aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 (Diptera, Culicidae) third instar larvae. The median lethal concentration values obtained with aqueous extract against A. aegypti (LC₅₀ = 6.4 mg/mL) were higher than those observed against A. darlingi (LC₅₀ = 99 mg/mL). Eugenol exhibited an LC₅₀ value of 3.6 mg/mL against A. aegypti larvae. These findings show eugenol´s potential as a larvicide against malaria and dengue vectors.

Key words: Myrtaceae, mosquito, dengue vector, malaria vector, plant extracts.