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Plant-borne ovicides in the fight against mosquito vectors of medical and veterinary importance: a systematic review

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Abstract

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are a huge threat for millions of people worldwide, since they act as vectors for devastating parasites and pathogens. Culicidae control is of crucial importance. Mosquito eggs, larvae, and pupae are usually targeted using organophosphates, insect growth regulators, and microbial agents. Indoor residual spraying and insecticide-treated bed nets are also employed. However, these chemicals have negative effects on human health and the environment, and induce resistance in a number of species. Eco-friendly tools have been recently implemented against mosquito vectors, including botanical insecticides. The majority of researches focused on larvicides (745 SCOPUS results, July 2015) and adult repellents (434 SCOPUS results), while limited efforts were conducted to identify effective ovicides of botanical origin (59 SCOPUS results). Here, I review current knowledge on the effectiveness of plant-borne ovicides against major mosquito vectors of medical and veterinary importance. The majority of researches focused on the toxicity of crude extracts, their fractions, or essential oils against three important mosquito vectors, Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus. As a general trend, C. quinquefasciatus eggs were the most resistant to botanical ovicides. Five studies proposed selected compounds from plant extracts and essential oils as ovicides effective at few parts per million. However, no efforts were conducted to shed light on possible mechanisms underlying the toxicity of plant-borne ovicides. In the final section, a number of hot issues needing further research and cooperation among parasitologists, entomologists, and researchers working in natural product chemistry are outlined.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for improving an earlier version of the manuscript. I would like to Heinz Mehlhorn, Marcello Nicoletti, and Kadarkarai Murugan for helpful discussions on the topic.

Disclosure

The author did not have potential conflict of interests relevant to the subject of this research. Giovanni Benelli is currently an Editorial Board Member of Parasitology Research, but this does not alter the author’s adherence to all the Parasitology Research policies on sharing data and materials.

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  1. Insect Behavior Group, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Benelli

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Benelli, G. Plant-borne ovicides in the fight against mosquito vectors of medical and veterinary importance: a systematic review. Parasitol Res 114, 3201–3212 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4656-z

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