The insecticidal activities of Erica manipuliflora Salisb. Extracts in the flowering and fruiting periods and their evaluation in term of chemical profiles of active extracts

A growing number of investigations of essential oils, extracts or phytochemicals have been conducted to discover effective pesticidal agents against Aedes aegypti L., a major vector of yellow fever, Zika fever and dengue. The goal of this study was to enhance the knowledge about the activity of Erica manipuliflora and to discover effective pesticidal agents against Ae. aegypti L during both the flowering and fruiting periods. Eight extracts of E. manipuliflora in flowering and fruiting periods were investigated for their insecticidal activities against larval and adult Ae. aegypti. Five extracts exhibited adult mortality of greater than 90% at 5 μg/mosquito. The major volatile compounds of petroleum ether and acetone extracts of the aerial parts in both periods were found cyclopentanol, methylcyclohexane, 2-methyl-2-pentanol and 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-1,2-pentanone respectively, by GC-MS. 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, myricetin rhamnoside, and quercetin rhamnoside were determined as major compounds of active extracts by LC-MS. This initial study of the insecticidal activity of E. manipuliflora shows it has compounds potentially useful for protection against vector-borne diseases.