Larvicidal and adult mosquito attractant activity of Auricularia auricula-judae mushroom extract on Aedes aegypti (L.) and Culex sitiens Wiedemann

Abstract

Mosquitoes are small insects that are major vectors for the transmission of many diseases to humans, including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, lymphatic filariasis, and Japanese encephalitis. These diseases are significant public health problems worldwide, especially in tropical and sub-tropical countries. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Auricularia auricula-judae mushroom extract on larvicidal and adult mosquito attractant activity of important vectors, including Aedes aegypti (L.) and Culex sitiens Wiedemann. Five concentrations of extract at 120, 12, 1.2, 0.12 and 0.012 mg/L for the larvicidal assay were used, while concentrations for the attraction of adult mosquitoes were 10-4 g/mL, 10-5 g/mL and 10-6 g/mL. The results of the larvicidal activity assay with the A. auricula-judae extract on both species investigated herein of mosquitoes did not affect Ae. aegypti larvae, though with Cx. sitiens mosquitoes, the mushroom extract slightly eliminated larvae at all concentrations. The results with the A. auricula-judae extract on adult mosquito attractant activity at three concentrations showed at 10-5 g/mL, the most attraction took place followed by 10-6 g/mL and 10-4 g/mL, respectively (11.66 ± 0.57 vs. 7.00 ± 1.00, 11.33 ± 0.57 vs. 6.66 ± 0.57, and 9.33 ± 0.57 vs. 6.00 ± 1.00 mosquitoes, respectively). However, statistical difference comparison of the number of mosquitoes attracted between A. auricula-judae extract and octenol were found to be different at all concentrations (p > 0.05). Although the performance of A. auricula-judae extract is not equal to that of octanol, it was effective in attracting more than half of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes as dengue vector (58.33%).