Abstract
The oviposition deterrence and ovicidal potential of five different essential oils, peppermint oil (Mentha piperita), basil oil (Ocimum basilicum), rosemary oil (Rosemarinus officinalis), citronella oil (Cymbopogon nardus), and celery seed oil (Apium graveolens), were assessed against female adults of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti L. Multiple concentration tests were carried out where cups containing 1 mL of different concentrations (100%, 10%, 1%, 0.1%) of the oils and 199 mL of water were used for oviposition. The number of eggs laid and the larvae hatched in each cup were scored to evaluate the oviposition deterrent and ovicidal potentials of the oils. Our investigations revealed that the addition of 100% oil (pure oil) caused complete oviposition deterrence except in A. graveolens which resulted in 75% effective repellency. The use of 10% oil resulted in the maximum deterrence of 97.5% as shown by the M. piperita oil while other oils caused 36–97% oviposition deterrence as against the control. The oviposition medium with 1% oil showed decreased deterrent potential with 30–64% effective repellency, the M. piperita oil being exceptional. However, as the concentrations of the oil were reduced further to 0.1%, the least effective oil observed was A. graveolens (25% ER). Also, the M. piperita oil showed much reduced activity (40%) as compared to the control, while the other oils exhibited 51–58% repellency to oviposition. The studies on the ovicidal effects of these oils revealed that the eggs laid in the water with 100% essential oils did not hatch at all, whereas when 10% oils were used, only the R. officinalis oil resulted in 28% egg hatch. At lower concentrations (1%), the oils of M. piperita, O. basilicum, and C. nardus showed complete egg mortality while those of A. graveolens and R. officinalis resulted in 71% and 34% egg hatches, respectively. When used at 0.1%, the O. basilicum oil was found to be the only effective oil with 100% egg mortality, whereas other oils resulted in 16–76% egg mortality, the least mortality caused by the A. graveolens oil. These results suggest that these essential oils can be employed in a resistance-management program against A. aegypti. Further detailed research is needed to identify the active ingredient in the extracts and implement the effective mosquito management program.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amer A, Mehlhorn H (2006a) Larvicidal effects of various essential oils against Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex larvae (Diptera, Culicidae). Parasitol Res 99:466–472
Amer A, Mehlhorn H (2006b) Repellency effect of forty-one essential oils against Aedes, Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes. Parasitol Res 99:478–490
Autran ES, Neves IA, da Silva CSB, Santos GKN, da Câmara CAG, Navarro DMAF (2009) Chemical composition, oviposition deterrent and larvicidal activities against Aedes aegypti of essential oils from Piper marginatum Jacq. (Piperaceae). Bioresour Technol 100:2284–2288
Bassolé IH, Guelbeogo WM, Nébié R, Costantini C, Sagnon N, Kabore ZI, Traoré SA (2003) Ovicidal and larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae complex mosquitoes of essential oils extracted from three spontaneous plants of Burkina Faso. Parassitologia 45:23–26
Brogdon WG, McAllister JC (1998) Insecticide resistance and vector control. Emerg Infect Dis 4:605–613
Chiasson H, Belanger A, Bostaniah A, Vincent C, Poliquin A (2001) Acaricidal properties of Artemisia abinthium and Tanacetum vulgare (Asteraceae) essential oil obtained by three methods of extraction. J Econ Entomol 19:167–171
Choochote W, Tuetun B, Kanjanapothi D, Rattanachanpichai E, Chaithong U, Chaiwong P, Jitpakdi A, Tippawangkosol P, Riyong D, Pitasawat B (2004) Potential of crude seed extract of celery, Apium graveolens L., against the mosquito Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). J Vector Ecol 29:340–346
Davis EE, Bowen FM (1994) Sensory physiological basis for attraction in mosquitoes. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 10:316–325
Elango G, Bagavan A, Kamaraj C, Abduz Zahir A, Abdul Rahuman A (2009) Oviposition-deterrent, ovicidal, and repellent activities of indigenous plant extracts against Anopheles subpictus Grassi (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 105:1567–1576
Fatope MO, Ibrahim H, Takeda Y (1993) Screening of higher plants reputed as pesticides using the brine shrimp lethality assay. Int J Pharmacogn 31:250–254
Gleiser RM, Bonino MA, Zygadlo JA (2010) Repellence of essential oils of aromatic plants growing in Argentina against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res. doi:10.1007/s00436-010-2042-4
Govindarajan M, Jebanesan A, Pushpanathan T (2008) Larvicidal and ovicidal activity of Cassia fistula Linn. leaf extract against filarial and malarial vector mosquitoes. Parasitol Res 102:289–292
Joshep CC, Ndoils MM, Malima RC, Nkuniya NHM (2004) Larvicidal and mosquitocidal extracts, a coumrin, isoflavonoids and petrocarpans from Neorautanenia mitis. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 98:451–455
Kumar S, Warikoo R, Wahab N (2010) Larvicidal potential of ethanolic extracts of dried fruits of three species of peppercorns against different instars of an Indian strain of dengue fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 107:901–907
Mehlhorn H, Schmahl G, Schmidt J (2005) Extract of the seeds of the plant Vitex agnus castus proven to be highly efficacious as a repellent against ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and biting flies. Parasitol Res 95:363–365
Nour AH, Elhussein SA, Osman NA, Nour AH (2009) Repellent activities of the essential oils of four Sudanese accessions of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) against Anopheles mosquito. J Appl Sci 9:2645–2648
Oyewolo I, Ibidapo C, Moronkola D, Doula A, Adeoye G, Anyasor G, Obansa J (2008) Antimalarial and repellent activities of Tithonia diversifolia (HemsL.) leaf extracts. J Med Plants Res 2:171–175
Prajapati V, Tripathi AK, Aggarwal KK, Khanuja SPS (2005) Insecticidal, repellent and oviposition-deterrent activity of selected essential oils against Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. Bioresour Technol 96:1749–1757
Pushpanathan T, Jebanesan A, Govindarajan M (2006) Larvicidal, ovicidal and repellent activities of Cymbopogan citratus Stapf (Graminae) essential oil against the filarial mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae). Trop Biomed 23:208–212
Rahuman AA, Bagavan A, Kamaraj C, Vadivelu M, Zahir AA, Elango G, Pandiyan G (2009a) Evaluation of indigenous plant extracts against larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 104:637–643
Rahuman AA, Bagavan A, Kamaraj C, Saravanan E, Zahir AA, Elango G (2009b) Efficacy of larvicidal botanical extracts against Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 104:1365–1372
Rajkumar S, Jebanesan A (2007) Repellent activities of selected plant essential oils against the malarial fever mosquito Anopheles stephensi. Trop Biomed 24:71–75
Rajkumar S, Jebanesan A (2008) Bioactivity of flavonoid compounds from Poncirus trifoliate L. (Family: Rutaceae) against the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti L. (Dipteria: Culicidae). J Parasitol Res 104:19–25
Sukumar K, Perich JM, Boobar RL (1991) Botanical derivatives in mosquito control: a review. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 7:210–237
Tawatsin A, Asavadachanukorn P, Thavara U, Wongsinkongman P, Bansidhi J, Boonruad T, Chavalittumrong P, Soonthornchareonnon N, Komalamisra N, Mulla MS (2006) Repellency of essential oils extracted from plants in Thailand against four mosquito vectors (Diptera: Culicidae) and oviposition deterrent effects against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 37:915–931
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the University Grants Commission for providing the financial assistance to the project. The authors extend thanks to Dr. Savithri Singh, Principal, Acharya Narendra Dev College, for providing the laboratory and culture facilities to conduct the experimental work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Warikoo, R., Wahab, N. & Kumar, S. Oviposition-altering and ovicidal potentials of five essential oils against female adults of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti L.. Parasitol Res 109, 1125–1131 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2355-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2355-y