Mosquito Repellent and Larvicidal Activities of Acalypha Indica Leaf Extracts

In this study, mosquito repellent and larvicidal activities of leaf extracts of Acalypha indica were investigated against Aedes aegypti. Leaf extracts of Acalypha indica was prepared using maceration, Soxhlet extraction, sonication and steam distillation. Hexane, acetone, ethyl acetate, methanol and water were used as solvents. Mosquito repellent activity was investigated using static air repellency apparatus. The highest mosquito repellent activities were obtained by maceration in hexane and sonication in ethyl acetate and they vary from 60% to 20% in a period of three hours. In order to determine the larvicidal activity, mosquito larvae were treated with each plant extract and percentage mortality of mosquito larvae was obtained within 24 h. Highest larvicidal activities (100% mortality) were given by sonicated leaf extract in water (100 mg mL-1) and Soxhlet leaf extract in acetone (97 mg mL-1).