Screening of Plant Extracts for Larvicidal Activity against Culex quinquefasciatus

Objective: To investigate the activity of some selected Indian medicinal plant against larvae of mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. Materials and methods: The plants viz. Acorus calamus (rhizomes), Allium sativum (bulbs) and Gardenia gummifera (dried exudates) were selected for the study. The plant materials were extracted successively with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and 40% ethanol using soxhlet apparatus. Extracts of the three plants were subjected to larvicidal activity. Results: The ethanolic extract of Acorus calamus was most active among the other extracts with an LC₅₀ of 0.072 and LC₉₀ of 0.243. Conclusion: It can be concluded that A. calamus and G. gummifera may be exploited commercially as larvicidal agents.