Larvicidal Property of the Extract and Fractions of Hannoa klaineana against the Larvae of Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Aedes aegypti (Culicidae) is the main vector for dengue which is endemic in Nigeria and Africa at large. Use of synthetic materials for the control of this vector has always proven abortive. The introduction of plant metabolites which is biodegradable maybe successful and safer to the human health in the control programme of this vector since plants are very rich in bioactive secondary metabolites. Hence, we evaluated the larvicidal activity of the crude methanol extract, n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol fractions of Hannoa klaineana (Simaroubaceae) against the IV instar larvae of A. aegypti mosquitousing standard protocols. The most active fractions were  n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions with LC50 values of 1.006, 1.479, and 3.198 mg/ml respectively; n-hexane fraction having the highest property with LC50 value of 1.006 mg/ml and followed by chloroform fraction with LC50 value of 1.479 mg/ml. The evaluation has shown that the secondary metabolites of H. klaineana can be used as an alternative for the synthetic larvicides which its use has proven abortive in the vector control programmes.