Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Chemical Composition of Zanthoxylum avicennae Essential Oil and its Larvicidal Activity on Aedes albopictus Skuse

Xin Chao Liu¹, Qi Yong Liu², Ligang Zhou³, Quan Ru Liu⁴, Zhi Long Liu¹

¹Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193; ²State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206; ³Department of Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193; ⁴College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China.

For correspondence:- Zhi Liu Email: zhilongliu@cau.edu.cn Tel:+861062732800

Received: 29 January 2014 Accepted: 25 February 2014 Published: 24 March 2014

Citation: Liu XC, Liu QY, Zhou L, Liu QR, Liu ZL. Chemical Composition of Zanthoxylum avicennae Essential Oil and its Larvicidal Activity on Aedes albopictus Skuse. Trop J Pharm Res 2014; 13(3):399-404 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v13i3.13

© 2014 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To determine the larvicidal activity of the essential oil derived from Zanthoxylum avicennae (Lam.) DC. (Rutaceae) leaves and stems against the larvae of Aedes albopictus SkuseA294;

Methods: Essential oil of Z. avicennae leaves and stems were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromaotography-mas spectrometry (GC-MS). The activity of the essential oil was evaluated, using World Health Organization (WHO) procedures, against the fourth larvae of A. albopictus for 24 h and larval mortality recorded at various essential oil concentrations ranging from 12.5 - 200 μg/mL.

Results: A total of 31 components of the essential oil of Z. avicennae were identified. The essential oil had higher content of monoterpenoids (65.70 %) than sesquiterpenoids (33.45 %). The principal compounds of the essential oil were 1,8-cineol (53.05 %), β-elemene (6.13 %), α-caryophyllene (5.96 %), β-caryophyllene (5.09 %) and caryophyllene oxide (4.59 %). The essential oil exhibited larvicidal activity against A. albopictus with a median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) value of 48.79 μg/mL.

Conclusion: The findings obtained indicate that the essential oil of Z. avicennae has potentials for use in the control of A. albopictus larvae and could be useful in the search for newer, safer and more effective natural compounds as larvicides.

Keywords: Aedes albopictus, Essential oil, Larvicidal activity, Mosquito, Zanthoxylum avicennae