US EPA

1449938 

Journal Article 

Mosquito larvicidal activity of alkaloids and limonoids derived from Evodia rutaecarpa unripe fruits against Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) 

Liu, Z; Liu, Q; Du, S; Deng, Z 

2012 

1 

Parasitology Research
ISSN: 0932-0113
EISSN: 1432-1955 

111 

3 

991-996 

English 

22526296 

10.1007/s00436-012-2923-9 

WOS:000308112300005 

In recent years, uses of environment friendly and
biodegradable natural insecticides of plant origin have received renewed attention as agents for
vector control. During a screening program for new agrochemicals from Chinese medicinal herbs and
local wild plants, the ethanol extract of Evodia rutaecarpa Hook f. et Thomas (Rutaceae) unripe
fruits was found to possess larvicidal activity against the mosquitoes. The aim of this research
was to determine larvicidal activity of the ethanol extract of E. rutaecarpa unripe fruits and
the isolated constituents against the larvae of the Culicidae mosquito Aedes albopictus. The
powder, 5 kg of the fruit material, was extracted with 30 l of 95 % ethanol, filtered, and
evaporated to dryness in a rotary vacuum evaporator. The crude extract was then partitioned
between methanol-water and n-hexane. The n-hexane fraction was evaporated off to given n-hexane
extract. The aqueous layer was repartitioned with chloroform to provide chloroform extract after
evaporation of the solvent. Further partitioning with ethyl acetate gave a residue after
evaporation of the solvent. Bioactivity-directed chromatographic separation of chloroform extract
on repeated silica gel columns led to the isolation of three alkaloids (evodiamine, rutaecarpine,
and wuchuyuamide I) and two limonoids (evodol and limonin). The structures of the constituent
compounds were elucidated based on high-resolution electron impact mass spectrometry and nuclear
magnetic resonance. Evodiamine, rutaecarpine, and wuchuyuamide I exhibited strong larvicidal
activity against the early fourth instar larvae of A. albopictus with LC50 values of 12.51,
17.02, and 26.16 mu g/ml, respectively. Limonin and evodol also possessed larvicidal activity
against the Asian tiger mosquitoes with LC50 values of 32.43 and 52.22 mu g/ml, respectively,
while the ethanol extract had a LC50 value of 43.21 mu g/ml. The results indicated that the
ethanol extract of E. rutaecarpa and the five isolated constituents have a good potential as a
source for natural larvicides.