Boswellia ovalifoliolata (Burseraceae) essential oil as an eco-friendly larvicide? Toxicity against six mosquito vectors of public health importance, non-target mosquito fishes, backswimmers, and water bugs

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 LC₅₀ 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 LC₅₀ 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.

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