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Background: The excessive use of synthetic insecticides is responsible for many cases of resistance in insects. Therefore, the use of natural molecules of ecological interest with insecticidal properties is an alternative approach to the use of synthetic insecticides. The aim of this study is to investigating the larvicidal and adulticidal activity and the chemical composition of the essential oil of Aeollanthus pubescens on the major malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae. Methods: Three reference strains of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (Kisumu, Kiskdr and Acerkis) were used in this study. The leaves of A. pubescens were collected in southern Benin. The standard World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for larvicide evaluation were used, and the chemical composition of the essential oil was analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Adult mosquitoes of each strain were exposed to pieces of net coated with the essential oil for 3 min using the WHO cone bioassay method. Probit regression analysis was used to determine the concentrations that would kill 50 and 95% of each test population (LC50, LC95) and the knockdown time for 50 and 95% of each test population (KDT50, and KDT95). The difference between the mortality–dose regressions for the different strains was analysed using the likelihood ratio test (LRT). The log-rank test was performed to evaluate the difference in survival between the strains. Results: A total of 14 components were identified, accounting for 98.3% of total oil content. The major components were carvacrol (51.1%), thymyle acetate (14.0%) and ɣ-terpinene (10.6%). The essential oil showed larvicidal properties on the Kisumu, Acerkis and Kiskdr strains, with LC50 of 29.6, 22.9 and 28.4 ppm, respectively. With pieces of netting treated at 165 µg/cm2, the KDT50 of both Acerkis (1.71 s; Z = 3.34, P < 0.001) and Kiskdr (2.67 s; Z = 3.49, P < 0.001) individuals were significantly lower than that of Kisumu (3.8 s). The lifespan of the three mosquito strains decreased to 1 day for Kisumu (χ2 = 99, df = 1, P < 0.001), 2 days for Acerkis (χ2 = 117, df = 1, P < 0.001) and 3 days for Kiskdr (χ2 = 96.9, df = 1, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings show that A. pubescens essential oil has larvicide and adulticide properties against the malaria vector An. gambiae sensu stricto, suggesting that this essential oil may be a potential candidate for the control of the resistant malaria-transmitting vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from leaves of three samples of Aeollanthus pubescens Benth. (Lamiaceae) growing wild in Benin were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. To date the biological functions of A. pubescens essential oils have not been demonstrated scientifically even if this plant is traditionally used by local population in alimentary and medicine. We investigated the chemical composition of A. pubescens essential oils and their antiradical and anti-inflammatory activities. Twenty four compounds were identified and quantified in the essential oils, the major compounds being thymol (63.6%; 9.5%; 63.4%), carvacrol (3.1%; 51.1%; 2.1%), thymyl acetate (9.8%; 0.8%; 10.2%), carvacryl acetate (0.8%; 6.1%; 0.7%), p-cymene (5.6%; 9.0%; 5.5%) and -terpinene (6.4%; 11.2%; 6.6%). The antiradical activity of these oils was found to be high and a low anti-inflammatory activity was observed. Fractionation of a thymol rich sample allowed the identification of the bioactive fractions and their contribution to the efficiency of the whole extract. This study suggests that A. pubescens essential oils may be useful in the food industry where the antioxidants are used to retard the degradation of fatty substances, but also in cosmetics or in the field of herbal medicine, where the radical species are associated with the concept of antiaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]