Larvicidalactivity of calotropis gigantea leaf extract against mosquitoe aedes aegypti

Mosquitoes act as a vector for most of the life threatening diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya ferver, filariasis, encephalitis, West Nile Virus infection, etc. Under the Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM), emphasis was given on the application of alternative strategies in mosquito control.The continuous application of synthetic insecticides causes development of resistance in vector species, biological magnification of toxic substances through the food chain and adverse effects on environmental quality and non target organisms including human health. Application of active toxic agents from plant extracts as an alternative mosquito control strategy was available from ancient times. In this article, the larvicidal activity of Calotropis gigantea leaf extract were studied in laboratory on the concentration of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/cm2 against 3 to 4 days ld unfed Aedes aegypti in a dial cycle from 7 am to 5 pm. This study reveals that the extract of C.gigantea has remarkable larvicidal as well as repellent properties. The flora of India has rich aromatic plant diversity with potential for development of natural insecticides for control of mosquito and other pests. These results could encourage the search for new active natural compounds offering an alternative to synthetic repellents and insecticides from other medicinal plants.