Larvicidal activity of Persea americana Mill. against Aedes aegypti

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the toxicity of the ethanol and hexane extracts of the different parts of Persea americana Mill. (P. americana) toward third and fourth instars larvae of Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) and to characterize the ethanol extract by qualitative phytochemical analysis. Methods: The seeds, peels and pulp of P. americana were processed for crude extraction using 95% ethanol and n-hexane. Crude extracts were bio-assayed for larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti following the World Health Organization standard bioassay method. The mortality was observed at 24 h and 48 h after treatment and data were subjected to probit analysis to determine lethal concentrations (LC