Investigating chemical composition and larvicidal potency of the essential oil of Citrus sinensis fruit rind

Abstract

Malaria, filariasis and other related fever caused by insects constitute major health challenges in the world. Since synthetic insecticides used for the control of the vectors may not be environmentally friendly, essential oil of Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) rind was tested for larvicidal potency. The essential oil was obtained via hydrodistillation method and subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. (R)-(+)-limonene, a monoterpene was obtained as the major constituent of essential oil of Citrus sinensis rind. Mortality of the larvae of culex mosquitoes was observed after 24 hours of exposure to different concentrations of the essential oil. Result obtained showed that the mortality rate of the larvae increased with increase in concentration of the essential oil with LC90 value of 4.6 ppm. The essential oil of Citrus sinensis rind showed potent larvicidal efficacy and can be considered for further investigation.