Chemical composition and larvicidal activity of essential oil from Ocimum basilicum (L.) against Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Aedes albopictus and Anopheles subpictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

The toxicity of mosquito larvicidal activity of leaf essential oil and their major chemical constituents from Ocimum basilicum were evaluated against Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Aedes albopictus and Anopheles subpictus. The chemical composition of the leaf essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. GC–MS revealed that the essential oil of O. basilicum contained 20 compounds. The major chemical components identified were linalool (52.42%), methyl eugenol (18.74%) and 1, 8-cineol (5.61%).The essential oil had a significant toxic effect against late third-stage larvae of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Ae. albopictus and An. subpictus with an LC50 values of 14.01, 11.97 and 9.75 ppm and an LC90 values of 23.44, 21.17 and 18.56 ppm, respectively.The results could be useful in search for newer, safer, and more effective natural larvicidal agents against Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Ae. albopictus and An. subpictus.

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► Efficacy of Ocimum basilicum essential oil and its chemical constituents against three important vector mosquitoes.
► The main constituents of the oil were linalool (52.42%), methyl eugenol (18.74 %) and 1, 8-cineol (5.61 %).
► The results suggest that O. basilicum oil has potential source of larvicidal compounds.