Efficacy of essential oil from Maranta arundinacea L. against immature stages of dengue, filariasis, and malaria vectors and four mosquito predators

Mosquitoes are significant vectors of infectious diseases, causing thousands of fatalities worldwide each year. This present study was to check the toxicity of essential oil (EO) from Maranta arundinacea L. against three mosquito species: Anopheles stephensi, Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. The immature stages were exposed to five different concentrations such as 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25 and 50 ppm; these were used to check the insecticidal activity according to WHO standard protocol with slight modification. The EO presented 100 % ovicidal toxicity against the eggs of treated three mosquitoes at 24 h. Strong mosquitocidal effects were observed, with LC₅₀ values of 5.0, 4.9 and 6.2 ppm for the larvae (3rd Instar) of Anopheles, Culex and Aedes species, respectively, at 24 h. However, no significant pupicidal toxicity was observed in any of the mosquito. Three main compounds were identified in the EO that might have contributed to its mosquitocidal properties. Toxicity assessments indicated that the EO from M. arundinacea did not adversely affect the tested natural predators such as P. reticulata, Dragon fly nymph, D. indicus and G. affinis. The EO was then formulated for field application, which confirmed its promising mosquitocidal activity (20–28 ppm), without any toxicity to tested natural predators. This study highlights the potential of EO from M. arundinacea in mosquito management, suggesting that it can serve as a possible substitute to synthetic chemicals, offering effective mosquito control with minimal environmental impact.