Chemical Composition, Larvicidal and Repellent Activities of Wild Plant Essential Oils against Aedes aegypti .

Bio-degradable and eco-friendly essential oils (EOs) extracted from Mentha longifolia , Salsola imbricata , Erigeron bonariensis , E. canadensis , Ailanthus altissima , and Zanthoxylum armatum were investigated for their repellent and larvicidal potential against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes . The EOs of M. longifolia , S. imbricata , E. bonariensis , E. canadensis , A. altissima , and Z. armatum exhibited 99.0%, 96.8%, 40.2%, 41.7%, 29.1%, and 13.2% repellency against mosquitoes at a tested dose of 33.3 μg/cm 2 , respectively. In time span bioassays, the EOs of M. longifolia , S. imbricata , E. bonariensis , and E. canadensis showed more than 40% repellency for 60 min at a tested dose of 330 μg/cm 2 . Larvicidal bioassays revealed that larvae of Ae. aegypti were the most susceptible to M. longifolia (LC 50 , 39.3 mg/L), E. bonariensis (LC 50 , 26.0 mg/L), E. canadensis (LC 50 , 35.7 mg/L), and Z. armatum (LC 50 , 35.9 mg/L) EOs upon 48 h exposure. The most abundant constituents in the EOs of M. longifolia , S. imbricata , E. bonariensis , E. canadensis and A. altissima were piperitone oxide (45.5%), carvone (39.9%), matricaria ester (43.1%), (31.7%) and eugenol (24.4%), respectively. Our study demonstrates that EOs of M. longifolia , S. imbricata , E. bonariensis , and E. canadensis might be used to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes without harming humans or the environment.