Insecticidal Activity of Berberis Royleana: Various Extracts against Callosobruchus Maculatus

Abstract

The residents of remote areas in developing countries mostly rely on traditional plants to curedifferent ailments. Berberis royleana is a rare species among the genus Berberis whichcommonly comprises 500 species distributed in Nepal, Afghanistan, Siberia, and other parts ofthe world. Berberis are used to make herbal medication to fight against infections, oculartrachoma, AIDS, and diarrhea. The current study was carried out to explore the in vitroinsecticidal activity of B. royleana in various extracts by direct contact application processagainst the insect Callosobruchus maculatus. The maximum mortality rate of 60% was recordedby water fraction, whereas methanolic fraction had 50% mortality, n-Hexane had 40% mortality,while ethyl acetate and chloroform both had 30% mortality at 72 hours. Thus, this studyindicated that from the medicinal point of view this specie is very significant, with a greatpotential for insecticidal activities against C. maculatus. It is further suggested that B. royleanacould be used as a good insecticidal agent against dengue and malarial vectors. In addition, theside effects like toxicity could be addressed to avoid any mishaps.