Abstract
Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) has been widely used as a natural antimicrobial and antifungal agent, as a food preservative, and as a sanitizer in hand wash, soap, and dentifrice. GSE is considered environmentally safe, without toxicity to humans or animals at effective concentrations. However, few reports have examined the toxicity of GSE to invertebrate larvae. Therefore, we investigated the larvicidal effects of two commercially available GSEs from the USA and Brazil against larvae of brine shrimp Artemia salina. Additionally, we investigated the effects of naringin, quercetin, and citric acid on A. salina to identify the active larvicidal compounds of GSE. After a 24-h incubation, we found that 0.1% GSE was extremely larvicidal, whereas <0.01% GSE was non-larvicidal. It is likely that citric acid, naringin, and quercetin act synergistically on A. salina nauplii larvae. Our results suggest that GSE at moderate doses is valuable for developing larvicidal agents in aquatic environments.
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Choi, JS. Larvicidal effects of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) on brine shrimp Artemia salina . Toxicol. Environ. Health Sci. 9, 209–214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-017-0322-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-017-0322-4