A review on plant phytochemicals potential for mosquito control

Abstract

Most serious diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, filariasis, encephalitis, West Nile Virus infection, etc. are spread by mosquitoes. The use of alternate mosquito control methods was emphasized under the Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM). The The continuous utility of artificial pesticides reasons improvement of resistance in vector species, Organic magnification of poisonous substances through the food chain and adverse effects on environmental and non-target organisms which includes human fitness Since ancient times, active poisonous compounds from plant extracts have been applied as a substitute method of controlling mosquitoes. These exhibit broad-spectrum target-specific actions against several kinds of vector mosquitoes while being nontoxic, easily accessible at reasonable rates, and biodegradable. This article reviews the current state of knowledge regarding phytochemical sources and mosquitocidal activity, their mode of action on the target population, variation in their larvicidal activity according to mosquito species, instar specificity, polarity of solvents used during extraction, nature of active ingredient, and promising developments made in the biological control of mosquitoes by plant derived secondary metabolites.