Larvicidal Efficacies of Nanoliposomes Containing Alpha-pinene, Citral, Camphor, and Thymol Against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi Mosquito Vectors
{"title":"Larvicidal Efficacies of Nanoliposomes Containing Alpha-pinene, Citral, Camphor, and Thymol Against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi Mosquito Vectors","authors":"Alireza Sanei-Dehkordi, Narges Fereydouni, Mahmoud Agholi, Seyed AhmadReza Ziaei, Zahra Azadpour, Elham Zarenezhad, Mahmoud Osanloo","doi":"10.1007/s11686-025-00993-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Diseases transmitted by <i>Aedes aegypti</i> or <i>Anopheles stephensi</i>, such as Zika virus, dengue fever, and malaria, pose substantial risks to public health, particularly in tropical areas. Plant-derived compounds have emerged as promising alternatives due to their inherent safety and potential efficiency against mosquitoes. This study aimed to improve the efficacy of certain natural compounds, including α-pinene, citral, camphor, and thymol, by developing nanoliposomal formulations.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>The nanoliposomes containing α-pinene, citral, camphor, and thymol were prepared using the ethanol injection method and then characterized. Using WHO-recommended guidelines, their larvicidal efficacy was investigated against <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Anopheles stephensi</i>.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The nanoliposomes particle sizes were 105 ± 7, 86 ± 5, 149 ± 5, and 135 ± 8 nm, and zeta potentials were − 25.1 ± 0.5, -17.2 ± 1.2, -16.4 ± 1.6, and − 21.3 ± 1.7 mV, respectively. In addition, the ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform InfraRed) analysis verified the successful loading of the compound. Nanoliposomal compounds exhibited superior performance compared to their non-formulated counterparts in larvicidal bioassays. The nanoliposomes containing thymol showed the highest efficacy, with a Lethal Concentration 50 (LC<sub>50</sub>) of 20 µg/mL against <i>Ae. aegypti</i>. Nanoliposomes containing citral exhibited an LC<sub>50</sub> of 20 µg/mL against <i>An. stephensi</i>.</p><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The results suggest that nanoliposomes have the potential to serve as an effective vehicle to improve the efficiency of plant-based larvicides. This could play a significant role in developing sustainable mosquito control strategies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":6932,"journal":{"name":"Acta Parasitologica","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Acta Parasitologica","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11686-025-00993-5","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Diseases transmitted by Aedes aegypti or Anopheles stephensi, such as Zika virus, dengue fever, and malaria, pose substantial risks to public health, particularly in tropical areas. Plant-derived compounds have emerged as promising alternatives due to their inherent safety and potential efficiency against mosquitoes. This study aimed to improve the efficacy of certain natural compounds, including α-pinene, citral, camphor, and thymol, by developing nanoliposomal formulations.
Methods
The nanoliposomes containing α-pinene, citral, camphor, and thymol were prepared using the ethanol injection method and then characterized. Using WHO-recommended guidelines, their larvicidal efficacy was investigated against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi.
Results
The nanoliposomes particle sizes were 105 ± 7, 86 ± 5, 149 ± 5, and 135 ± 8 nm, and zeta potentials were − 25.1 ± 0.5, -17.2 ± 1.2, -16.4 ± 1.6, and − 21.3 ± 1.7 mV, respectively. In addition, the ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform InfraRed) analysis verified the successful loading of the compound. Nanoliposomal compounds exhibited superior performance compared to their non-formulated counterparts in larvicidal bioassays. The nanoliposomes containing thymol showed the highest efficacy, with a Lethal Concentration 50 (LC50) of 20 µg/mL against Ae. aegypti. Nanoliposomes containing citral exhibited an LC50 of 20 µg/mL against An. stephensi.
Conclusions
The results suggest that nanoliposomes have the potential to serve as an effective vehicle to improve the efficiency of plant-based larvicides. This could play a significant role in developing sustainable mosquito control strategies.
期刊介绍:
Acta Parasitologica is an international journal covering the latest advances in the subject.
Acta Parasitologica publishes original papers on all aspects of parasitology and host-parasite relationships, including the latest discoveries in biochemical and molecular biology of parasites, their physiology, morphology, taxonomy and ecology, as well as original research papers on immunology, pathology, and epidemiology of parasitic diseases in the context of medical, veterinary and biological sciences. The journal also publishes short research notes, invited review articles, book reviews.
The journal was founded in 1953 as "Acta Parasitologica Polonica" by the Polish Parasitological Society and since 1954 has been published by W. Stefanski Institute of Parasitology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Since 1992 in has appeared as Acta Parasitologica in four issues per year.