Lavicidal and pupicidal activities of Petroselinum crispum seed essential oil on Culex pipiens and Culiseta longiareolata mosquitoes

Abstract

Background: The use of synthetic insecticides to control mosquitoes has adverse effects on the environment and also causes increasing resistance. As a result, other alternatives have been developed, among them the use of plant extracts represented mainly by essential oils, which exhibit acute toxic effects against insects, including mosquitoes. Materials and Methods: The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition of <em>Petroselinum crispum </em>(Umbellifereae) essential oil and to evaluate its impact on mortalities, morphometric measurements (weight, volume) and the biochemical contents (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) in larvae and pupae of two most abundant mosquito species in Tebessa (East Algeria), Culex pipiens and Culiseta longiareolata (Diptera: Culicidae). The essential oil was tested at different concentrations ranging between 5 and 60 ppm on newly molted third-instar larvae, between 10 and 70 ppm on newly molted fourth-instar larvae and between 10 and 150 ppm on instar pupae of the two species of mosquito under standard laboratory conditions according to the World Health Organization recommendations. Results: Results of phytochemical screening of P. crispum essential oil revealed the pres­ence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids and steroids and twenty-five compounds have been identified by GC/MS. The major compounds were Pulegone (51.06%) and D-Limonene (18.77%). Insecticidal tests revealed that this essential oil exhibited larvicidal and pupicidal properties with dose-response relationship. <em>P. crispum essential oil caused a decrease in the weight, the volume and the energy reserves in treated larvae and pupae of the two tested mosquito species. Conclusion: Due to its mosquitocidal efficacy, P. Crispum essential oil could be considered as an attractive candidate for further study in monitoring resistance of mosquito vectors.