Glaucarubinone from Simarouba glauca DC. as a potential biocontrol agent for mosquito vector management

Abstract

The study explored Simarouba glauca DC. for mosquito larvicidal potential by performing bioactivity-guided chemical investigation of its root extract resulting in isolation of the known bioactive metabolite glaucarubinone (1). Mosquito larvicidal activity of glaucarubinone (1) against the three vector species viz. Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus was determined using a modified WHO 2005 protocol. It was observed that Culex quinquefasciatus larvae were the most susceptible species with LC₅₀ 13.88 ppm and LC₉₀ 70.01 ppm followed by Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi at 24 h of exposure. The mode of action as observed microscopically is the lysis of midgut and thorax cells of the third instar larvae. The crystal structure of the glaucarubinone (1) is reported for the first time using X-ray crystallography. This phytochemical product has the potential to act as a green alternative to existing chemical-based insecticides for integrated vector management.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Antimalarial
• glaucarubinone
• mosquito larvicidal
• Simarouba glauca DC
• vector control

Acknowledgement

Authors are thankful to Dr. B. D. Shethia, Dr. J. B. Pandya, Dr. S. K. Puri, and Dr. P. K. Ghosh for their continuous support. Dr. M. R. Rathod acknowledges CSIR, New Delhi for the Network Project (NWP 37). Dr. Pramod B. Shinde acknowledges Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology for providing financial support (ECRA/2016/000788 and EEQ/2016/000268). Dr. S. Tothadi thanks SERB for the Start-up Research Grant (SRG/2023/000209) and AESD&CIF (MLP0072). Dr. Ajit Mohanty and Dr. Pramod B. Shinde acknowledge Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) for providing funding (2021-8432/F3). Analytical science and centralised instrument facility of the institute are acknowledged for providing analytical support. Sanju Singh and Asmita Dhimmar thank CSIR-JRF/SRF fellowship from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Harshal Sahastrabudhe thanks CSIR-GATE-JRF fellowship from CSIR. Apexa Gajjar and Pankaj Kumar acknowledge DBT-JRF/SRF fellowship from Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

Author contributions

MRR, AKM, and PBS conceived and designed experiments; MRR, AKM, and PBS obtained funding; SS, MRR, DM, AG, PJD, AD, and ST performed the experiments; SS, MRR, AG, HS, PK, PBS, and AKM analysed the data; SS, AKM, UPS, PBS, and MRR drafted the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was financially supported by Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology for providing financial support (ECRA/2016/000788 and EEQ/2016/000268), SERB for the Start-up Research Grant (SRG/2023/000209) and AESD&CIF (MLP0072), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for providing funding (2021-8432/F3)