Green larvicides against blowflies, Lucilia sericata (Diptera, Calliphoridae): Screening of seven plants used in Indian ethno-veterinary medicine and production of green-coated zinc oxide nanoparticles

Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology

Available online 24 February 2017

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• Balan Banumathi^a,
• Baskaralingam Vaseeharan^{a, ,} ,
• Balasubramanian Malaikozhundan^a,
• Palaniappan Ramasamy^b,
• Marimuthu Govindarajan^c,
• Naiyf S. Alharbi^d,
• Shine Kadaikunnan^d,
• Angelo Canale^e,
• Giovanni Benelli^e

• ^a Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Animal Health Lab, Department of Animal Health and Management, Alagappa University, Science Campus 6th Floor, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu 630 004, India
• ^b R & D Wing, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, BIHER-Bharath University, Chromepet, Chennai 600044, Tamil Nadu, India
• ^c Unit of Vector Control, Phytochemistry and Nanotechnology, Department of Zoology, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar, Tamil Nadu 608 002, India
• ^d Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
• ^e Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via delBorghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy

Received 7 February 2017, Revised 21 February 2017, Accepted 21 February 2017, Available online 24 February 2017

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2017.02.003

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Highlights

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Seven plants were screened for larvicidal activity against Lucilia sericata.

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Lobelia leschenaultiana-coated ZnO nanoparticles were prepared.

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High larvicidal efficacy of ZnO nanoparticles was observed against L. sericata.

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Abstract

Dipteran flies are responsible of myiasis, a common parasitic infestation leading to the invasion of living, necrotic or dead tissues. They also transmit mycobacterial infections to livestock. In the present investigation, seven plant species employed in Southern India for medical and ethno-veterinary purposes were extracted using ethanol or water and tested against second instar larvae of Lucilia sericata. 100% larval mortality was observed testing Lobelia leschenaultiana ethanol extract at 60 mg/L (LC₅₀ = 3.4 mg/L). Based on the highest percentage of larval mortality, we selected L. leschenaultiana for fabrication of ZnO nanoparticles to control L. sericata. Zinc acetate showed 82.2% mortality at 60 mg/L (LC₅₀ = 38.2 mg/L) whereas L. leschenaultiana-coated ZnO nanoparticles (Ll-ZnO NPs) showed 100% mortality at 6 mg/L, the LC₅₀ was 0.78 mg/L. Overall, our research represents an attempt to integrate current ethno-veterinary knowledge from native tribes of Southern India, in order to identify effective botanicals for the development of nano-biopesticides against livestock pests and parasites.

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Graphical abstract

Keywords

• Biosafety;
• Diptera;
• Ethnopharmacology;
• Green synthesis;
• Myiasis;
• Nilgiri