Acaricidal activity of Cymbopogon winterianus, Vitex negundo and Withania somnifera against synthetic pyrethroid resistant Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Abstract

Detection of resistance levels against cypermethrin and deltamethrin, the most commonly used synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus collected from Moga, Punjab (India) was carried out using larval packet test. Results indicated the presence of resistance of level I and III against cypermethrin (resistance factors (RF) = 4.67) and deltamethrin (RF = 34.2), respectively. Adult immersion test was used to assess the acaricidal activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of leaves of Cymbopogon winterianus, Vitex negundo, and Withania somnifera along with roots of V. negundo against the SP resistant engorged females of R. (B.) microplus. The efficacy of various extracts was assessed by estimation of percent adult mortality, reproductive index (RI), percent inhibition of oviposition (%IO), and hatching rate. A concentration dependent increase in tick mortality was recorded which was more marked with various ethanolic extracts, and highest mortality was recorded in ticks treated with ethanolic extract of leaves of C. winterianus. The LC50 values were determined by applying regression equation analysis to the probit transformed data of mortality for various aqueous and ethanolic extracts. Acaricidal property was recorded to be higher in ethanolic extracts, and high activity was found with the ethanolic extract of leaves of C. winterianus with LC50 (95% CL) values of 0.46% (0.35-0.59%), followed by W. somnifera as 5.21% (4.45-6.09%) and V. negundo as 7.02% (4.58-10.74%). The egg mass weight of the live ticks treated with different concentrations of the various extract was significantly (p < 0.01) lower than that of control ticks; consequently, the RI and the %IO value of the treated ticks were reduced. Further, complete inhibition of hatching was recorded in eggs laid by ticks treated with ethanolic extracts of leaves of V. negundo and aqueous extracts of leaves of W. somnifera. The results of the current study indicate that extracts of C. winterianus, V. negundo, and W. somnifera can be used for the control of SP resistant ticks.

Withania somnifera acts as a potential insect growth regulator in the polyphagous pest, Pericallia ricini

“…Toxicological effects of Ashwagandha have also been observed against the larvae/adults of various insects, for instance, leaf extracts against larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus (Karmegam et al 1997), leaf, stem, fruit and root extracts against adults of Callosobruchus chinensis (Gupta and Srivastava 2008), leaf, fruit and root extracts against adult Sitophilus oryzae (Yankanchi and Gadache 2010;Suvanthini et al 2012), green and red fruit, seed, fruit without seeds, leaf and root extracts against Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus (Sakthivadivel and Daniel 2008;Bansal et al 2011), root, stem and leaf extracts against larvae of Tribolium castaneum (Arora et al 2011), and leaf extracts against larvae and adults of Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Madkaur et al 2013). Furthermore, acaricidal activity by the leaves of this medicinal plant against the larvae of deltamethrin resistant Hyalomma anatolicum (Singh et al 2014a) and fully engorged females of synthetic pyrethroid resistant Rhipicephalus microplus (Singh et al 2014b) have been shown. Moreover, antifeedant properties of the Ashwagandha have also been observed against the larvae of Epilachna varivestis (Ascher et al 1981) and it has been suggested that the effect might be due to the presence of withanolide E (Isman 2002 of W. somnifera could be due to the presence of certain chemically active compounds like withanolides, withaferins, saponins and alkaloids (isopelletierine, anaferine) in the roots and seeds (Pratibha et al 2013;Dar et al 2015).…”

Laboratory and field evaluation of the aphidicidal activity of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) leaf extract and identification of the active components

“…Various plant extracts showed aphidicidal activity, including A. triloba , Plocamiaceae , L.honkrauswianus , Kunzeaericifolia , Tetradenia riparia , Commiphora swynertonii and S. miser . The LC 50 values of A. triloba and Tetradenia riparia are 100 and 534 g L −1 , respectively.…”

Benefit to end users: appraisal of extending technology at farm fields from regions of Himachal Pradesh, India

“…The tree used, namelyneem (Azadirachta indica A Juss) had acaricide property against various stages of tick lifecycle (Abdel-Shafy and Zayed, 2002).Leaves of Monks pepper (Vitexnegundo L.) had shown effect on egg hatchability of ticks (Singh et al, 2014).The medication was prepared by collecting 2.5 kg fresh leaves of neem (Azadirachta indica A Juss) and1.0 kg fresh leaves of monks pepper (Vitexnegundo L.). Each of these plant materials were kept in 4 litre and 2 litreluke warm water overnight respectively so as to allow collection of crude extract.…”