| Abstract: | Studies evaluated the effects of hexanic extracts from the fruits and flowersofClusia fluminensis and the main component of the flowerextract, a purified benzophenone (clusianone), against Aedesaegypti. The treatment of larvae with the crude fruit or flower extractsfrom C. fluminensis did not affect the survival ofAe.aegypti (50 mg/L), however, the flower extracts significantly delayeddevelopment of Ae. aegypti. In contrast, the clusianone (50 mg/L) isolate from theflower extract, representing 54.85% of this sample composition, showed a highlysignificant inhibition of survival, killing 93.3% of the larvae and completelyblocking development of Ae. aegypti. The results showed, for the first time, highactivity of clusianone against Ae. aegypti that both killed and inhibited mosquitodevelopment. Therefore, clusianone has potential for development as a biopesticidefor controlling insect vectors of tropical diseases. Future work will elucidate themode of action of clusianone isolated from C. fluminensis. |
