Abstract
Simple Summary Mosquito-borne diseases lead to serious public health concerns in tropical and sub-tropical countries worldwide. Due to the developed resistance to synthetic chemical insecticides, their effects on the surrounding environment, and economic concerns, natural products are considered promising agents to be used in vector control programs, due to their safety, low cost, and high activity. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the larvicidal, developmental, and repellent activities of the methanolic extract of Annickia chlorantha and its isolated compounds against the mosquito vector, Culex pipiens, besides their toxicity to the non-target aquatic organism, the zebrafish (Danio rerio). The results highlight the potential of A. chlorantha extract and its isolated compounds as effective mosquitocidal agents with a very low toxic effect on non-target organisms. In this study, the crude extract and its isolated compounds from the stem bark of Annickia chlorantha were tested for their larvicidal, developmental, and repellent activity against the mosquito vector, Culex pipiens, besides their toxicity to the non-target aquatic organism, the zebrafish (Danio rerio). The acute larvicidal activity of isolated compounds; namely, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, columbamine, beta-sitosterol, and Annickia chlorantha methanolic extract (AC), was observed. Developmentally, the larval duration was significantly prolonged when palmatine and beta-sitosterol were applied, whereas the pupal duration was significantly prolonged for almost all treatments except palmatine and jatrorrhizine, where it shortened from those in the control. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme showed different activity patterns, where it significantly increased in columbamine and beta-sitosterol, and decreased in (AC), palmatine, and jatrorrhizine treatments, whereas glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme was significantly increased when AC methanolic extract/isolated compounds were applied, compared to the control. The adult emergence percentages were significantly decreased in all treatments, whereas tested compounds revealed non-significant (p > 0.05) changes in the sex ratio percentages, with a slight female-to-male preference presented in the AC-treated group. Additionally, the tested materials revealed repellence action; interestingly, palmatine and jatrorrhizine recorded higher levels of protection, followed by AC, columbamine, and beta-sitosterol for 7 consecutive hours compared to the negative and positive control groups. The non-target assay confirms that the tested materials have very low toxic activity compared to the reported toxicity against mosquito larvae. A docking simulation was employed to better understand the interaction of the isolated compounds with the enzymes, AChE and GST. Additionally, DFT calculations revealed that the reported larvicidal activity may be due to the differing electron distributions among tested compounds. Overall, this study highlights the potential of A. chlorantha extract and its isolated compounds as effective mosquitocidal agents with a very low toxic effect on non-target organisms.