Larvicidal activities of three plants against filarial vector Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae).

The present study was carried out to establish the larvicidal properties of crude extracts of three plants, viz. Carica papaya, Murraya paniculata and Cleistanthus collinus against Culex quinquefasciatus as target species. The relative efficacy of the plant extracts in vector control was as follows: C. papaya seed extract > M. paniculata fruit extract > M. paniculata leaf extract > C. collinus leaf extract. Result of log-probit analysis (at 95% confidence level) revealed that LC(50) and LC(95) values gradually decreased with the exposure periods similar to the result in bioassay experiment for each of the plant extract. The results of preliminary qualitative phytochemical analysis of all the plants revealed the presence of many bioactive principles such as steroids, alkaloids, terpenes, saponins, etc. that may be responsible for their biocontrol potentiality. The appropriate lethal concentrations at 24 h for each of the extracts were also studied on non-target organisms such as Diplonychus annulatum and Chironomus circumdatus, and no change in the swimming behaviour and survivality was noticed, which indicates that all the extracts are safe for the aquatic ecosystem.