Do traditional mosquito repellent plants work as mosquito larvicides?
Lukwa N Blair Research Laboratory, Harare, Zimbabwe. Plant derived larvicides were evaluated in Kamhororo, an area of Zimbabwe. Twenty five third and fourth instar An. gambiae s.s mosquito larvae were used per test according to the method of WHO. All larvicides were effective against the An. gambiae s.s mosquito larvae and were comparable to studies done in Tanzania using Orange peel extracts. The extracts of the plant Ocimum canum (LC50 = 54, 94 x 10(3) ug/ml) were more effective in killing the larvae than Lippia javanica (LC50 = 125,34mg x 10(3) ug/ml). These concentrations are higher when considering commercial larvicides.
