TITLE:
Mosquitocidal Activity of Extracts from Ammi visnaga (Apiaceae) Seeds
AUTHORS:
Kumudini M. Meepagala, Alden S. Estep, James J. Becnel
KEYWORDS:
Aedes aegypt, Ammi visnaga, Mosquito Larvicide, Apiaceae, Khellin, Visnagin
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment,
Vol.5 No.4,
November
3,
2016
ABSTRACT: Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are responsible for transmission of many viral diseases, such as Zika fever, dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Emergence of resistance to currently used pesticides among mosquitoes has increased the importance for the search for novel mosquito control agents. Natural products, particularly plant and microbe derived secondary metabolites, are good sources in the search for such compounds. Ammi visnaga (Lam.) Lamarck is a plant in the Apiaceae family native to North Africa, Europe, and Asia. In the search for environmentally benign and effective insecticides as part of an ongoing joint effort between the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) and the DWFP (Deployed War Fighter Protection) program sponsored by the Department of Defense, we have investigated ethyl acetate extract of A. visnaga seeds. Two furanochromones, khellin and visnagin that exhibited larvicide activity against Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the seeds by bioassay-guided fractionation. This is the first report of mosquito larvicidal activity of khellin and visnagin.