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Plant oils in the fight against the West Nile Vector, Culex pipiens

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Abstract

Controlling mosquitoes naturally and safely to avoid mosquito-borne diseases is an urgent need. Plant oils are a promising source for mosquito control. The larvicidal effects of 18 oils were evaluated against the early 4th larvae, Culex pipiens. All oils showed larvicidal activity (55 to 100%, 24 h post-treatment with 2000 ppm for 24 h). The efficacy of oils was classified as the highly effective group (H group) inducing 95-100% mortalities, including six oils: Azadirachta indica, Cyperus alternifolius, Lupinus luteus, Lactuca sativa, M. alternifolia, and Persea americana (MO% = 98.33, 100, 98.33, 98.33, 100, and 95%, respectively). Their LC50 values were 588.31, 496.96, 677.45, 611.60, 445.28, and 646.34 ppm, respectively; whereas their LC99 values were 1601.14, 1331.06, 1953.29, 1667.27, 1342.56, and 1725.94 ppm, respectively. The moderately effective group (83-93% mortalities) included Syzygium aromaticum, Capsicum annuum, Aloe vera, Nigella sativa, Phyllanthus emblica, Citrullus colocynthis, Daucus carota, Carthamus glaucus, Ocimum basilicum, and Triticum aestivum. Their LC50 values ranged from 762.39 (S. aromaticum) to 1043.59 ppm (T. aestivum). The least effective group included P. armeniaca (55%) and Allium cepa (78%). The novel larvicidal activity of seven oils (C. glaucus, C. alternifolius, D. carota, L. sativa, M. alternifolia, P. armeniaca and T. aestivum) against larvae of Cx. pipiens was reported for the first time in this investigation. Our findings demonstrate the potential of M. alternifolia, and C. alternifolius followed by A. indica, L. luteus, or L. sativa as the most potent larvicides that could be used for integrated mosquito control programs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the funding agency, the Science, Technology, and Innovation Funding Authority, Egypt, Project title: “Ecofriendly Pesticides against Pests of Medical, Veterinary, and Agricultural Importance” ID: 41608

Funding

This work was supported by the Science, Technology, and Innovation Funding Authority, Egypt, Project title: “Ecofriendly Pesticides against Pests of Medical, Veterinary, and Agricultural Importance” ID: 41608.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha, 13518, Egypt

    Mohamed M Baz

  2. Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Toukh, 13736, Egypt

    Abdelfattah M Selim

  3. Supplementary General Sciences Department, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Future University in Egypt, 11835, Cairo, Egypt

    Ibrahim T Radwan

  4. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Toukh, 13736, Egypt

    Hanem F Khater

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  1. Mohamed M Baz
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MB: Helped with lab work and writing; AS: Helped with editing and referencing; IR: Helped with editing; HK: Helped with lab work and writing. All the authors approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hanem F Khater.

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Baz, M.M., Selim, A.M., Radwan, I.T. et al. Plant oils in the fight against the West Nile Vector, Culex pipiens. Int J Trop Insect Sci 42, 2373–2380 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-022-00762-1

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