Larvicidal activities of Knema attenuata (Hook. f. & Thomson) Warb. (Myristicaceae) extracts against Aedes albopictus Skuse and Anopheles stephensi Liston.

In recent years, uses of environment friendly and biodegradable natural insecticides of plant origin have received renewed attention as agents for vector control. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of aril and kernel extracts of Knema attenuata (Hook. f. & Thomson) Warb. (Myristicaceae) on larvae of Aedes albopictus Skuse and Anopheles stephensi Liston under laboratory conditions. The aril was extracted with chloroform and ethanol; the kernel was extracted with ethanol and hexane. The extracts were tested against the 3rd-4th instar larvae collected from Bunder area, Mangalore, India, which is a well-known fishing harbour, where several mosquito-borne diseases were reported. All the graded concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm) showed significant larval mortality after 24 h of observation. Chloroform extracts of aril showed 100% mortality against both larval forms of A. albopictus and A. stephensi at the concentration of 500 ppm. Among the extracts tested, chloroform extracts of aril and ethanol extracts of kernel exhibited higher toxicity against both A. albopictus (LC(50), 141 ppm and 159 ppm; LC(90), 290 ppm and 342 ppm) and A. stephensi (LC(50), 160 ppm and 162 ppm; LC90, 445 ppm and 458 ppm). Hexane extracts of kernel exhibited least toxicity against A. albopictus (LC50, 239 ppm; LC(90), 484 ppm), whereas ethanol extracts of aril showed the least toxicity against A. stephensi (LC(50), 290; LC(90), 498). A preliminary phytochemical assay revealed the presence of phenolics, tannins, steroids, terpenes, resins, and glycolipids in all the extracts. Alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins were absent. The lower LC(50) value of the chloroform extracts of K. attenuata aril indicates its potentiality as a larvicide against A. albopictus and A. stephensi mosquito larvae.