Larvicidal Effects of Termanalia Catappa Leaves Extract on Mosquito Larvae

There is an emergence of vector resistance to the four commonly used mosquito insecticides in over 28 countries. Therefore, it has become necessary to seek for more effective alternatives. This present study aims to evaluate the larvicidal properties of the leaf extracts of Termanalia catappa on Culex quiquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. The plant leaves were collected locally and extracted using petroleum ether as solvent. Four varying concentrations were made using dilution method to test larvicidal activity on 4th instar larva of the aforementioned species of mosquito. It was observed that the plant extract was lethal against both species of mosquito. The results also showed that mortality of the mosquito larvae increased as the concentration of the extract increases. Furthermore, probit analysis of the results shows that the median lethal concentration LC50 of Termanalia catappa extract on Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus are 0.5166ppm and 0.465ppm respectively. This means that Culex quinquefasciatus is more susceptible to the plant extracts. It is evident from this study that Termanalia catappa has larvicidal properties that can be considered in the production of an environmentally-friendly plant based larvicide. Since Termanalia catappa is known to naturally grow in the wild; it will therefore require lesser resources to be cultivated domestically. We recommend that further studies should be conducted on the plant to explore its full potential.