Abstract

Mosquitoes are the major health threat as they transmit plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. Since mosquitoes developed resistances towards insecticides, investigators are searching for alternative control measures. Bioactive plant chemicals have been identified to serve as a defense mechanism against insects’ larvae. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate larvicidal activities of Juniperus procera extracts in in vitro against 3rd to 4th instars larvae of Anopheles arabiensis. The leaves of the plant were collected from Fogera District and brought to Bahir Dar University where it was extracted with chloroform, petroleum ether, ethanol and acetone. The phytochemical screening was performed. A. arabiensis 3rd to 4th instar larvae were collected from Woreta town of Fogera District and bioassay was tested on 20 larvae at room temperature. Finally, the percentage mortality of larvae at 24, 48 and 72 h was calculated. The result showed that chloroform, petroleum ether, acetone and ethanol extracts of J. procera caused  significant mortality of anopheles mosquito larvae (P=0.00). The mortality rate increased with the concentration of the extracts. Therefore, the study concluded that J. procera might be an alternative in mosquito control.

Key words: Anopheles arabiensis, Juniperus procera, Larvicidal activity, plant extract, solvent.