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Activities of some Brazilian plants against larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

de Mendonça FA, da Silva KF, dos Santos KK, Ribeiro Júnior KA, Sant'Ana AE

Departamento de Fitotecnia e Fitossanidade, CECA, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, 57.100-000, Rio Largo, AL, Brazil. facm_al@ibest.com.br

The insecticidal activities of extracts and oils of seventeen medicinal plants of Brazil have been determined using an Aedes aegypti larvicidal bioassay. Oils from Anacardium occidentalis, Copaifera langsdorffii, Carapa guianensis, Cymbopogon winterianus and Ageratum conyzoides showed high activities with LC50 values of 14.5, 41, 57, 98 and 148 microg/l, respectively. The most active ethanolic extract tested was that from the stem of Annona glabra which presented an LC50 value of 27 microg/l. The potential application of cashew nut oil, an industrial by-product with low commercial value, in the control of the vector of dengue and yellow fever, may be proposed.

Published 28 November 2005 in Fitoterapia, 76(7): 629-36.
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