Larvicidal and cytotoxic activities of extracts from 11 native plants from northeastern Mexico

Of all mosquito-borne viral diseases, dengue is spreading most rapidly worldwide. Conventional chemical insecticides (e.g., organophosphates and carbamates) effectively kill mosquitoes at their larval stage, but are toxic to humans. Natural product-based insecticides may be highly specific. Herein, we report the insecticidal activities of 11 native Mexican plants against Aedes aegypti (L). Ether extracts of Ambrosia confertiflora De Candolle, Thymus vulgaris (L.), and Zanthoxylum fagara (L.), and both ether and methanol extracts of Ruta chalepensis L. were significantly larvicidal toward the dengue mosquito after 24 h of exposure. Of them, only the ether extract of A. confertiflora was toxic to Vero cells. In conclusion, the ether extracts of Thymus vulgaris, Z. fagara, and both ether and methanol extracts of Ruta chalepensis L., could be considered as potential bioinsecticides.