Advances in Zoology and Botany Vol. 12(1), pp. 63 - 75
DOI: 10.13189/azb.2024.120107
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Toxic Effect of Green Seaweeds on the Larval Instars of Vector Mosquitoes


Vaithiyanathan Selvi 1, Subramanian Arivoli 2, Samuel Tennyson 3,*
1 Department of Microbiology, Sourashtra College, India
2 Department of Zoology, Thiruvalluvar University, India
3 Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, India

ABSTRACT

Seaweed species have been reported for their toxic effects on mosquito larvae. In the present study, the petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone and methanol extracts of two green seaweeds, Caulerpa racemosa and Ulva fasciata were tested for toxicity against the second and third instar of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus as per the guidelines of World Health Organization at concentrations of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/L for 24 hours. Caulerpa racemosa extracts recorded 100% mortality at the highest concentration on the second and third instar of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus, and maximum larvicidal activity was exhibited by the chloroform extract, and their respective LC50 values were 140.49 and 144.554 mg/L, and 153.704 and 158.313 mg/L. In the case of Ulva fasciata, the chloroform extract exhibited 100% mortality at the highest concentration on the second and third instar of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus, and also the maximum larvicidal activity with LC50 values of 158.358 and 166.025 mg/L; and 154.156 and 187.435 mg/L against the second and third instar larvae, respectively. Overall results indicated that amongst the two green seaweeds tested, Caulerpa racemosa exhibited more activity when compared to Ulva fasciata, and with reference to solvent extracts, the chloroform extract exhibited maximum activity against the larval instars of the vector mosquito species tested. With regard to the vector mosquito species tested, Aedes aegypti was more susceptible than Culex quinquefasciatus, and in the case of instars, second instar larvae were more susceptible than the third instar. In conclusion, the bioassay result of the present study indicated the larvicidal property of the chloroform extract of both the green seaweeds against the larval instars of vector mosquitoes, which encourages further investigation on its bioactive compounds that might own virtuous larvicidal properties when isolated in pure form.

KEYWORDS
Green Seaweeds, Caulerpa racemosa, Ulva fasciata, Solvent Extracts, Larvicidal Activity, Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Vaithiyanathan Selvi , Subramanian Arivoli , Samuel Tennyson , "Toxic Effect of Green Seaweeds on the Larval Instars of Vector Mosquitoes," Advances in Zoology and Botany, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 63 - 75, 2024. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2024.120107.

(b). APA Format:
Vaithiyanathan Selvi , Subramanian Arivoli , Samuel Tennyson (2024). Toxic Effect of Green Seaweeds on the Larval Instars of Vector Mosquitoes. Advances in Zoology and Botany, 12(1), 63 - 75. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2024.120107.