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ABSTRACT

The mosquito of the genus Aedes is the arthropod responsible for transmission of the dengue virus. Some procedures are proposed to prevent the proliferation of this vector, including the use of larvicides and insecticides. The present work has as the extraction of essential oils from the species Syzygium aromaticum and Ocimun grantissimun and the evaluation of their active components against Aedes aegypti larvae. The oils were subjected to GC-MS analysis to identify the majoritarys compounds. The EOs were subjected to turbidimetric tests to obtain the degree of solubility in 1% DMSO, acetone, alcohol and Tween 80. The analysis of EOs by GC–MS resulted in the identification of eugenol, 1-8-cineole and β-caryophyllene. Tests with the enzyme acetylcholinesterase were performed following the protocol of Ellman adapted by Rhee. The turbidity of the EOs in ethanol presented values from 30 to 102 NTU, implying the presence of a greater number of soluble molecules. Studies of larvicidal assays of S. aromaticum and O. gratissimun oils showed LC50 values of 39.5 and 54.6 mg/ml respectively. For anticholinesterase activity, O. gratissimun presented an IC50 of 6.2 mg/ml. The present work suggests the essential oils under study are promising in the formulation of larvicides and insecticides.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti, Ocimum gratissimum, Syzygium aromaticum, larvicidal, essential oil.