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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #404889
Research Project: Environmentally-Friendly, Microbial and Plant-Based Agents for Mosquito Control

Location: Crop Bioprotection Research

Title: Isothiocyanates: promising larvicides for mosquitoes

Author
item Weiler, Lina
item Behle, Robert
item Hay, William
item Kemp, Nathan
item Muturi, Ephantus

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/2023
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Ecofriendly and sustainable alternatives to chemical pesticides are needed to effectively control mosquitoes and reduce mosquito-borne pathogens infectious to humans and animals. Three major chemical products of enzymatic degradation of mustard seeds; allyl isothiocyanate, benzyl isothiocyanate and 4-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate were evaluated for toxicity (LC50) to larvae of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. All three isothiocyanates tested were toxic to Ae. aegypti larvae and their LC50s differed significantly from each other. Benzyl isothiocyanate had an LC50 value of 5.29 ppm compared with LC50 values of 19.35 for allyl isothiocyanate and 55.41 ppm for 4-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate. These results demonstrate the potential for isothiocyanates as promising ecofriendly larvicides for mosquito control.