Larvicidal activity of Gmelina arborea fruit extract against dengue vector Aedes aegypti mosquito

Abstract

Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of dengue virus has caused alarming health worldwide. There are available commercial mosquito insecticides, but the vectors develop resistance to these and cause harm and pose negative effects on living organisms and the environment. This study was conducted to evaluate the larvicidal activity of Gmelina arborea fruit extract as a biological control agent against 4th instar A. aegypti mosquito larvae. This study applies the control group and variation of treatment using the different concentration of G. arborea fruit extract (25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/L respectively) exposed to 15 batches of 10 4th instars A. aegypti larvae. The data obtained were analyzed using the mean percentage, One Way-ANOVA at 0.05 level of significance and probit analysis. Based on the results, the 100 mg/L concentration of fruit extract obtained the 100% mortality while the control group has no observed mortality of A. aegypti larvae after 24 hours of treatment. Moreover, there is a significant difference (F=33.88, p<0.05) between the control and the experimental group with varying concentration of G. arborea fruit extract. The lethal concentration (LC50 and LC90) values of G. arborea fruit extractwere 56.23 mg/L and 74.13 mg/L which means it is toxic to the mosquito larvae sample. The results showed great potential for the production of organic insecticides from the G. arborea fruit extract to control the A. aegypti, a vector of the dengue virus.