Histological changes in the midgut of Spodoptera litura larvae exposured by the extract of Mirabilis jalapa leaves

Abstract

Mirabilis jalapa in Indonesia is better known as Bunga Pukul Empat (the four o'clock flower) which has the potential a natural insecticide to overcome pests in agricultural crops, such as Spodoptera litura insects. If S. litura larva is infected by toxic compounds, it will cause larval mortality which can be observed in the midgut (middle intestine). This research used a Completely Randomized Design of 4 treatments with 1 control and 4 times of iteration in each treatment using 0% (control), 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8% and 1.6% (b/v) of M. jalapa leave extract concentration. The observation result of S. litura midgut histological structure showed that the higher concentration of M. jalapa leaf extract, the more damage occurred in its midgut tissue. Microphotography at a concentration of 0.2%; 0.4%; and 0.8% showed that some cells have undergone swelling, disintegration, and lysis. The worst damage was found at the concentration of 1.6%, in which the basal of epithelial cells undergone a wide range of disintegration, peritrophic membrane disappeared, all epithelial cell lysis, muscular layer became thin, the structure of basement membrane was indistinct, the form of goblet cells became irregular, and the longitudinal muscle disappeared. Based on the results, extract of M. jalapa has potential as a botanical biopesticide.