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Abstract

Mosquito borne diseases such as dengue, ebola, zika, chikungunya, malaria and filariasis etc. pose a serious threat worldwide in terms of public health. They are responsible for a significant economic burden for the African and Asian continent. Development of resistance, cross-resistance, rising cost and possible toxicity hazards associated with synthetic insecticides are some of the reasons for revival of interest in plant-based products in recent years. Search for cost-effective, safe and highly potent plant-based insecticides for the control of mosquitoes requires the preliminary screening of plants to evaluate their effectiveness in mosquito control and selecting the plants with high potency for further study. Essential oil of Psidium guajava L.variety Navalur Light pink was studied for its chemical composition and larvicidal potential against Aedes aegypti larve. Totally 84.33%compounds were identified in species by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry). The major chemical compounds were 1-(1-Ethylvinyl)-1-(-2methylene-3-butenyl) cycloproane of 53.34% in Navalur Light. Preliminary bioassay test was carried out by using modified WHO method for determination of larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti larve. Essential oils of Psidium guajava extract showed good mortality rate in Aedes larvae. Experimental results suggest that essential oil of Psidium guajava species are one of the inexpensive and eco friendly sources of natural mosquito larvicidal agent to control or to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquito. Further isolation and identification of active ingredients in essential oil of Psidium guajava are under process.