Abstract

Malaria and dengue are the cause of a heavy public health burden in the Amazon region. The present work evaluated the larvicidal activity of aqueous and methanolic extracts from clove, Eugenia caryophyllata Thunberg (Myrtaceae), and a chemical component are found in cloves, eugenol, against malaria and dengue mosquito vectors. Bioassays were carried out with these extracts and eugenol on Anopheles darlingi Root, 1926 and Aedes aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 (Diptera, Culicidae) third instar larvae. The median lethal concentration values obtained with aqueous extract againstA. aegypti (LC₅₀ = 6.4 mg/mL) were higher than those observed against A. darlingi(LC₅₀ = 99 mg/mL). Eugenol exhibited an LC₅₀ value of 3.6 mg/mL against A. aegyptilarvae. These findings show eugenol´s potential as a larvicide against malaria and dengue vectors.

Key words: Myrtaceae, mosquito, dengue vector, malaria vector, plant extracts.