A toxicology based research article on Agriculture and Medicine

Title: Control potentials of ornamental indoor plant Epipremnum aureum (Linden & Andre) G. S. Bunting against three stored product pests

 

Author(s): Alimul Islam, Nazia Sharmin, Monoar Hosen, Tandid Kamal, Zaidur Rahman Sabuj and Nurul Islam*

 

Abstract

Petroleum ether (Pet. ether), chloroform (CHCl3) and methanol (CH3OH) extracts of test plant Epipremnum aureum (Linden & Andre) G. S. Bunting have been subjected to dose-mortality and repellent activity tests against adult beetles of Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.), Sitophillus oryzae and Callosobruchus chinensis (L.). The Pet. ether extract of E. aureum offered mortality to T. castaneum, S. oryzae and C. chinensis. Pet. ether extract of E. aureum gave the LD50 values 1.40, 1.21, 1.16, 1.10, 1.04, 0.96 and 0.84mg/cm2 against T. castaneum; 1.73, 1.66, 1.32, 1.08, 1.00, 0.99 and 0.90mg/cm2 against S. oryzae; 2.95, 2.02, 2.01, 1.91, 1.82, 1.72 and 1.65mg/cm2 against C. chinensis after 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 42h of exposure respectively. In this dose-mortality investigation, lethal activity of Pet. ether extract of E. aureum was found according to the descending order T. castaneum> S. oryzae> C. chinensis. CHCl3 and CH3OH extracts of this plant did not show any mortality against T. castaneum, S. oryzae and C. chinensis. In repellency tests, Pet. ether and CHCl3 extracts of E. aureum was found to show significant repellent activity against the adult beetles of T. castaneum and C. chinensis. The activity of Pet. ether extract of E. aureum found significant repellent activity against T. castaneum and C. chinensis at 5% level of significance (P<0.05). CHCl3 extract of E. aureum showed significant repellent activity against T. castaneum and C. chinensis at 1% level of significance (P<0.01) and at 5% level of significance (P<0.05) respectively. However, the CH3OH extract of E. aureum did not show repellent activity against T. castaneum, S. oryzae and C. chinensis.