45
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Larvicidal effects of a neem ( Azadirachta indica) oil formulation on the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae

      research-article
      1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ,
      Malaria Journal
      BioMed Central

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background

          Larviciding is a key strategy used in many vector control programmes around the world. Costs could be reduced if larvicides could be manufactured locally. The potential of natural products as larvicides against the main African malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae s.s was evaluated.

          Methods

          To assess the larvicidal efficacy of a neem ( Azadirachta indica) oil formulation (azadirachtin content of 0.03% w/v) on An. gambiae s.s., larvae were exposed as third and fourth instars to a normal diet supplemented with the neem oil formulations in different concentrations. A control group of larvae was exposed to a corn oil formulation in similar concentrations.

          Results

          Neem oil had an LC 50 value of 11 ppm after 8 days, which was nearly five times more toxic than the corn oil formulation. Adult emergence was inhibited by 50% at a concentration of 6 ppm. Significant reductions on growth indices and pupation, besides prolonged larval periods, were observed at neem oil concentrations above 8 ppm. The corn oil formulation, in contrast, produced no growth disruption within the tested range of concentrations.

          Conclusion

          Neem oil has good larvicidal properties for An. gambiae s.s. and suppresses successful adult emergence at very low concentrations. Considering the wide distribution and availability of this tree and its products along the East African coast, this may prove a readily available and cheap alternative to conventional larvicides.

          Related collections

          Most cited references52

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Botanical insecticides, deterrents, and repellents in modern agriculture and an increasingly regulated world.

          Botanical insecticides have long been touted as attractive alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides for pest management because botanicals reputedly pose little threat to the environment or to human health. The body of scientific literature documenting bioactivity of plant derivatives to arthropod pests continues to expand, yet only a handful of botanicals are currently used in agriculture in the industrialized world, and there are few prospects for commercial development of new botanical products. Pyrethrum and neem are well established commercially, pesticides based on plant essential oils have recently entered the marketplace, and the use of rotenone appears to be waning. A number of plant substances have been considered for use as insect antifeedants or repellents, but apart from some natural mosquito repellents, little commercial success has ensued for plant substances that modify arthropod behavior. Several factors appear to limit the success of botanicals, most notably regulatory barriers and the availability of competing products (newer synthetics, fermentation products, microbials) that are cost-effective and relatively safe compared with their predecessors. In the context of agricultural pest management, botanical insecticides are best suited for use in organic food production in industrialized countries but can play a much greater role in the production and postharvest protection of food in developing countries.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            An entomopathogenic fungus for control of adult African malaria mosquitoes.

            Biological control of malaria mosquitoes in Africa has rarely been used in vector control programs. Recent developments in this field show that certain fungi are virulent to adult Anopheles mosquitoes. Practical delivery of an entomopathogenic fungus that infected and killed adult Anopheles gambiae, Africa's main malaria vector, was achieved in rural African village houses. An entomological inoculation rate model suggests that implementation of this vector control method, even at the observed moderate coverage during a field study in Tanzania, would significantly reduce malaria transmission intensity.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              The epidemiology and control of malaria

                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Malar J
                Malaria Journal
                BioMed Central (London )
                1475-2875
                2007
                22 May 2007
                : 6
                : 63
                Affiliations
                [1 ]University of Nairobi, School of Biological Sciences, P.O. Box 30197 00100 GPO Nairobi Kenya
                [2 ]Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, Public Health Entomology Unit, P.O. Box 53 Kilombero Tanzania
                [3 ]Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 8031, 6700 EH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
                [4 ]Durham University, School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
                Article
                1475-2875-6-63
                10.1186/1475-2875-6-63
                1887534
                17519000
                e929a866-caef-49b0-a5cc-3a5c9e7c35c8
                Copyright © 2007 Okumu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 24 January 2007
                : 22 May 2007
                Categories
                Research

                Infectious disease & Microbiology
                Infectious disease & Microbiology

                Comments

                Comment on this article