Desarrollo de emulsiones de limoneno como productos larvicidas para el control de las larvas de mosquitos Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Botanical products have gained significant momentum in the quest of compounds capable of controlling Aedes aegypti. In this research, essential oils (EOs) from the genus Citrus and their major secondary metabolites, R-(+) and S-(-)-limonene, were evaluated as larvicide agents. S-(-)-limonene was the most active larvicide as it showed LC50 of 13.34; 15.97 and 19.22 ppm over the Rockefeller, Piedecuesta and Bucaramanga Strains, respectively. It was encapsulated with both Tween 80 and Propylene glycol, and as a result, it developed nanometric-scaled emulsions of less than 10 nm. The assessment of the emulsion as a larvicide displayed an LC100 of 30 ppm. The EOs and the secondary metabolites were capable of inhibiting acetylcholinesterase by using values between 144.5 µg/mL and 256.0 µg/mL. R-(+)-limonene had a moderate toxicity of LC50 22.44 µg/mL over the non-target organism Danio rerio.