Larvicidal Activity of Essential Oil Derived from Illicium henryi Diels (Illiciaceae) Leaf

Purpose: To determine larvicidal activity of the essential oil derived from Illicium henryi Diels (Illiciaceae) leaf and stem against the larvae of Aedes albopictus Skuse. Methods: The essential oil of I. henryi leaves was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromaotography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The activity of the oil was evaluated, using World Health Organization (WHO) procedures, against the fourth instar larvae of A. albopictus for 24 h, and larval mortalities recorded at various essential oil concentrations ranging from 12.5 - 200 mu g/mL. Results: A total of 25 components of the essential oil of I. henryi were identified and the principal compounds in the essential oil were safrole (54.09 %), myristicin (22.24 %), and 1, 8-cineole (5.43 %). The essential oil has higher content of (76.48 %) of phenylpropanoids than monoterpenoids (10.79 %) and sesquiternoids (11.72 %). The essential oil exhibited larvicidal activity against A. albopictus with a median lethal concentration (LC50) of 35.43 mu g/mL. Conclusion: The findings obtained indicate that the essential oil of I. henryi leaves has potentials for use in the control of A. albopictus larvae and may be useful in the search for newer, safer and more effective natural compounds as larvicides.