Observations placeholder
Marigolds and malaria
Identifier
010334
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Andrographis paniculata is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka. It is widely cultivated in Southern and Southeastern Asia, where it has been traditionally used for medicinal purposes.
Eclipta prostrata (syn. Eclipta alba) commonly known as false daisy, yerba de tago, and bhringraj, is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include kehraj in Assamese and karisalaankanni (கரிசலாங்கண்ணி) in Tamil. This species grows commonly in moist places as a weed in warm temperate to tropical areas worldwide. It is widely distributed throughout India, China, Thailand, and Brazil.
A description of the experience
Indian J Med Res. 2011 Sep;134:375-83. Efficacy of indigenous plant extracts on the malaria vector Anopheles subpictus Grassi (Diptera: Culicidae). Elango G1, Zahir AA, Bagavan A, Kamaraj C, Rajakumar G, Santhoshkumar T, Marimuthu S, Rahuman AA.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Mosquito control is facing a threat due to the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. Insecticides of plant origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. The purpose of the present study was to assess the ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts of Andrographis paniculata, Eclipta prostrata and Tagetes erecta leaves tested for oviposition-deterrent, ovicidal and repellent activities against malaria vector, Anopheles subpictus Grassi (Diptera: Culicidae).
METHODS: The dried leaves of the three plants were powdered mechanically and extracted with ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol. One gram of crude extract was first dissolved in 100 ml of acetone (stock solution). From the stock solution, test solution concentrations of 31.21- 499.42 mg/l for oviposition- deterrence assay and repellency and 15.60 - 998.85 mg/l were used in ovicidal assay. The percentage oviposition- deterrence, hatching rate of eggs and protection time were calculated. One-way analysis of variance was used for the multiple concentration tests and for per cent mortality to determine significant treatment differences.
RESULTS: The percentage of effective oviposition repellency was highest at 499.42 mg/l and the lowest at 31.21 mg/l in ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts of A. paniculata, E. prostrata and T. erecta. The oviposition activity index (OAI) value of ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts of A. paniculata, E. prostrata and T. erecta at 499.42 mg/l were -0.91, -0.93, -0.84, -0.84, -0.87, -0.82, -0.87, -0.89 and -0.87, respectively. Mortality (no egg hatchability) was 100 per cent with ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of A. paniculata, E. prostrata and T. erecta at 998.85 mg/l. The maximum adult repellent activity was observed at 499.42 mg/l in ethyl acetate extracts of A. paniculata, E. prostrata and methanol extracts of T. erecta, and the mean complete protection time ranged from 120 to 150 min with the different extracts tested.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The acetone extract of A. paniculata, methanol extract of E. prostrata and T. erecta showed good oviposition-deterrent, ovicidal and repellent activities respectively. These results suggest that the leaf extracts of A. paniculata, E. prostrata and T. erecta may have the potential to be used as an ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of the An. subpictus.
PMID: 21985822