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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #367456
Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Assessment of selected Saudi and Yemeni plants for mosquitocidal activities against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Author
item AL-MASSARANI, SHAZA - King Saud University
item EL-SHAIBANY, AMINA - Sana'A University
item Tabanca, Nurhayat
item ALI, ABBAS - University Of Mississippi
item ESTEP, ALDEN - Navy Entomology Center Of Excellence, Cmave Detachment
item BECNEL, JAMES - Retired ARS Employee
item GOGER, FAITH - Anadolu Universtiy
item DEMIRCI, BETUL - Anadolu Universtiy
item EL-GAMALA, ALI - King Saud University
item BASER, K. HUSNU CAN - Near East University

Submitted to: Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/3/2019
Publication Date: 11/21/2019
Citation: Al-Massarani, S., El-Shaibany, A., Tabanca, N., Ali, A., Estep, A.S., Becnel, J.J., Goger, F., Demirci, B., El-Gamala, A., Baser, K. 2019. Assessment of selected Saudi and Yemeni plants for mosquitocidal activities against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal. 27(7):930-938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2019.07.001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2019.07.001

Interpretive Summary: Mosquito-borne diseases are a global problem and a continued threat to public health. Emergence of resistance to the majority of existing compounds has prompted a continued demand for new insecticides. In the current study, we examined extracts from thirty-nine medicinal plants from Saudi Arabia and Yemen for their ability to kill the dengue vector Ae. aegypti. Five extracts exhibited more than 80% mortality against adult Ae. aegypti and several had high mortality for larval Ae. aegypti. Further studies are planned on the extracts to identify the compounds responsible for the activity against Ae. aegypti.

Technical Abstract: As part of our continuing investigation for interesting biological activities of native medicinal plants, thirty-nine plants, obtained from diverse areas in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, were screened for insecticidal activity against yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti (L.). Out of the 57 organic extracts, Saussurea lappa, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Taraxacum officinale, Nigella sativa, and Hyssopus officinalis exhibited over 80% mortality against adult female Ae. aegypti at 5 ug/mosquito. In the larvicidal bioassay, the petroleum ether extract of Aloe perryi flowers showed 100% mortality at 31.25 ppm against 1st instar Ae. aegypti larvae. The ethanol extract of Saussurea lappa roots was the second most active displaying 100% mortality at 125 and 62.5 ppm. Polar active extracts were processed using LC-MS/MS to identify bioactive compounds. The apolar A. perryi flower extract was analyzed by headspace SPME-GC/MS analysis. Careful examination of the mass spectra and detailed interpretation of the fragmentation pattern allowed the identification of various biologically active secondary metabolites. Some compounds such as caffeic and quinic acid and their glycosides were detected in most of the analyzed fractions. Additionally, luteolin, luteolin glucoside, luteolin glucuronide and diglucuronide were also identified as bioactive compounds in several HPLC fractions. The volatile ketone, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one was identified from A. perryi petroleum ether fraction as a major compound.