Abstract
The use of synthetic pesticides to control vector populations is detrimental to human health and the environment and may lead to the development of resistant strains. Plants can be alternative sources of safer compounds effective on mosquito vectors. In this study, the mosquito larvicidal activity of
Boswellia ovalifoliolata
leaf essential oil (EO) was evaluated against
Anopheles stephensi
,
Anopheles subpictus
,
Aedes aegypti
,
Aedes albopictus
,
Culex quinquefasciatus
, and
Culex tritaeniorhynchus.
GC-MS revealed that the
B. ovalifoliolata
EO contained at least 20 compounds. The main constituents were β-pinene, α-terpineol, and caryophyllene. In acute toxicity assays, the EO was toxic to larvae of
An. stephensi
,
Ae. aegypti
,
Cx. quinquefasciatus
,
An. subpictus
,
Ae. albopictus
, and
Cx. tritaeniorhynchus
with LC
50
values of 61.84, 66.24, 72.47, 82.26, 89.80, and 97.95 μg/ml, respectively.
B. ovalifoliolata
EO was scarcely toxic to mosquito fishes, backswimmers, and water bugs predating mosquito larvae with LC
50
from 4186 to 14,783 μg/ml. Overall, these results contribute to develop effective and affordable instruments to magnify the reliability of Culicidae control programs.