Larvicidal activity of endophytic fungi isolated from selected medicinal plants on Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are one of the untapped resources of therapeutic compounds for various biological activities. It has a potential source for low-cost chemicals, used for developing eco-friendly control agents against mosquito-vector borne diseases. The present study focused on the larvicidal activity of ethyl acetate extract of endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of Ocimum sanctum, Vitex negundo, Andrographis paniculata, Mentha piperita, Tagetes erecta and Azadiracta indica on Aedes aegypti. Aspergillus, Pencillium and Fusarium species were isolated from the leaves of Ocimum sanctum, Vitex negundo, Andrographis paniculata, Mentha piperita, Tagetes erecta and Azadiarcta indica in the present study. The entire larvae bioassay test with endophytic fungal extracts showed a significant increase in the mortality percentage with the increase of concentration. Among the endophytic fungal extracts, the highest larvicidal activity was observed in Aspergillus and Fusarium species from the leaves of Vitex negundo was found to be 90.47% and 85.71% at 20 ppm respectively. The continuous exposure (24 h) of fungal extract resulted with least mortality effects. Moreover, the outcome of study is providing strong scientific evidences for developing more selective, ideal and eco-friendly mosquito larvicidal agents.