Bioassay guided isolation of mosquito larvicidal compound from acetone leaf extract of Elaeagnus indica Servett Bull and its in-silico study

•Identify the mosquito larvicidal pure compound (thujone) from Elaeagnus indica through bio-activity guided isolation method.•Testing the larvicidal efficacy of thujone against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi larvae.•Larvicidal potential of thujone was encountered by molecular docking studies with Aedes aegypti Sterol Carrier Protein-2.

The present study reports first-time for the isolation of pure mosquito larvicidal compound from Elaeagnus indica (Elaeagnaceae). Crude acetone leaf extract of E. indica was subjected to isolation of larvicidal principle through bioassay guided method using chromatography techniques. Based on the spectral analysis (UV, FT-IR, LC-MS, CHNS analysis, 1H, 13C, DEPT, HSQC and HMBC-NMR) the isolated compound was identified as (−)-α-thujone. The Larvicidal potential of isolated thujone was assessed against 4th instar larvae of Aedes aegypti (LC50 = 4.23 mg/L) and Anopheles stephensi (LC50 = 3.30 mg/L). In silico molecular docking study results reflects thujone show good interactions with Aedes aegypti Sterol Carrier Protein-2 with significant docking score (-8.2693) and Glide energy (-42.44 kcal/mol). The present study demonstrates that isolated thujone from the leaf acetone extract of E. indica possesses remarkable mosquito larvicidal potential and strong interactions with AeSCP-2.