In vitro mosquito larvicidal activity of marine algae against the human vectors, Culex quinquefasciatus (say) and Aedes aegypti (linnaeus) (diptera: Culicidae)

A total of twenty marine algae were collected from the rocky intertidal and subtidal regions of the southwest coast of India and extracted in methanol. The extracts were evaluated for larvicidal activity against the second and third instar larvae of the human vector mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Analysis on the activity profile of the above marine algae indicated that the early stage larvae were very sensitive to seven seaweed extracts that had been tested. Among the seven marine algae, Lobophora variegata was highly potential, showing LD50 value of 70.38 and 79.43 μg mL-1 on the 2nd instar larvae of A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus respectively. The rank of larvicidal potency in highly active algae in the descending order is as follows: Lobophora variegata (Dictyotaceae)>Spatoglossum asperum (Dictyotaceae)>Stoechospermum marginatum (Dictyotaceae)>Sargassum wightii (Sargassaceae) >Acrosiphonia orientalis (Acrosiphoniaceae)>Cenrroceras clavulatum (Ceramiacea)>Padina tetrastromatica (Dictyotaceae). This is the first report that envisaged the mosquito larvicidal efficacy of L. variegata from the Indian coast. Therefore, this marine alga could be recognized as a potential resource of natural insecticide and can be developed to replace synthetic insecticides in future. © 2011 Academic Journals Inc.