Larvicidal activity of Brunfelsia uniflora extracts on Aedes aegypti larvae

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and the larvicidal activity of Brunfelsia uniflora leaf and flower extracts against Aedes aegypti larvae. Twenty-four compounds were found in the leaf extract, and the major compounds were phytol (23.1%), 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, ethyl ester (21.3%), and hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester (12.8%). In the flower extract, twenty-four compounds were also identified and the major compounds were α-amyrin (35.7%), β-amyrin (16.4%), and (EE)-geranyl linalool (9.6%) by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The larvicidal activity was evaluated by larval immersion test. The lethal concentrations (LC) obtained from leaf extract were LC₅₀ = 4.89 and LC_99.9 = 11.14 mg/mL and from flower extract were LC₅₀ = 3.82 and LC_99.9 = 11.03 mg/mL, and the positive control presented LC₅₀ = 0.40 and LC_99.9 = 1.14 mg/mL. Thus, B. uniflora extracts are promising alternatives to control A. aegypti larvae.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Aedes aegypti
• bioinsecticide
• Brunfelsia uniflora
• α-amyrin
• phytol

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Universidade Paranaense, UniCesumar, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) finance code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Fundação Araucária for the financial support and the fellowship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.