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Larvicidal Activity of Extracts from the Artemisia arborescens L. Plant and Hyrtios erectus Sponge Against the Culex pipiens Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) and Toxicological Assessment on Danio rerio Zebrafish Embryos as Non-Target Organism
by
, , , ,
Sadeem A. Alqurashi
1, 
Ashraf M. Ahmed
1,
Ali A. El Gamal
2,
Shaza M. Al-Massarani
2,
Omer A. Basudan
2,
Diaa T. A. Youssef
3
,
Lamiaa A. Shaala
4 and 
Muhammad Farooq Khan
1,* 1
Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
2
Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
4
Suez Canal University Hospitals, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2025, 16(5), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16050448
Submission received: 22 March 2025
/
Revised: 19 April 2025
/
Accepted: 22 April 2025
/
Published: 24 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Metabolites as Biocontrol Agents of Insect Pests)
Simple Summary
The study investigates the larvicidal activity of methanolic extracts from Artemisia arborescens and Hyrtios erectus sponge against Culex pipiens mosquitoes. The extracts were prepared via maceration and were further fractionated using solvents of variable polarity. The results showed a significant difference in activity; the n-hexane fraction of A. arborescens had the highest effect, while H. erectus demonstrated greater overall larvicidal potency. Safety assessments revealed low toxicity of sponge extract on zebrafish embryos, suggesting H. erectus as a promising natural alternative for controlling mosquito populations and related diseases.
Abstract
There is a growing need for eco-friendly methods to control disease-carrying insects. The present study aimed to investigate the larvicidal activity of methanolic extracts and their various fractions from a plant, Artemisia arborescens L., and a marine sponge, Hyrtios erectus, against the mosquito, Culex pipiens L. Crude methanolic extracts of A. arborescens and H. erectus were prepared by maceration and successive fractionation were obtained using the liquid–liquid partition of crude extracts. The larvicidal activity of the extracts and their fractions was determined according to the WHO standard method. The results revealed that the n-hexane fraction of A. arborescens exhibited the highest larvicidal activity (LC50 346.74 μg/mL), exceeding the efficacy of the crude extract and other fractions. Furthermore, the sponge’s n-hexane (LC50 68.39 μg/mL), chloroform (LC50 63.03 μg/mL), and n-butanol (LC50 71.23 μg/mL) fractions showed a significant 3.9 to 4.5 times increase in the larvicidal potency compared to its crude extract (LC50 = 280.74 μg/mL). The safety of the sponge extracts was tested in the embryos of zebrafish as a non-target organism. In this regard, the crude methanolic extract and n-butanol fraction exhibited weak toxicity and chloroform fraction showed no detectable toxicity. This study suggests the H. erectus sponge as a source for developing safe natural substitutes for use in the battle against Cx. pipiens mosquito, which may help in reducing the spread of mosquito vectors and mosquito-borne diseases.
