Essential Oils Of Caatinga Plants With Deletary Action For Aedes Aegypti: A Review

Abstract

In Brazil, Aedes aegypti mosquito is the most frequent vector of some arboviruses, such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. The use of synthetic insecticides to combat this vector has been compromised due to the development of resistant populations and the collateral damage caused to nature. Essential oils (EO) have been studied as an alternative to synthetic insecticide. Thus, the objective of this work was to do a review of EOs from Caatinga biome plants, wich are effective against Ae. aegypti at different stage of development (eggs, larvae, pulp and adult); to identify promising plant species with insecticidal activity as well as the most frequent terpenic compounds in oils with the best activity profile. The keywords Aedes aegypti, essential oil, Caatinga and Northeast Brazil were searched on Scielo, Pubmed, ‘Portal dos Periódicos Capes’ and ScienceDirect platforms. Hence, a great insecticidal potential of these essential oils against Ae. aegypti larvae and adults was identified as well as great potential for repellents and oviposition supression. Of all the plants, those of genera Cordia, Croton, Piper, Lippia and several genera of the Lamiaceae family can be highlighted as the most promising against Ae. aegypti. Analyzing the oils that showed larvicidal activity at concetrations <100 ppm, β-Caryophyllene, Caryophyllene oxide, Spathulenol, 1,8-cineole and Thymol are common compounds in the majority and in all acetylcholinesterase inhibitory has been demonstrated. This study can assist the search for plant species with potential insecticide, including pointing out specific compounds that are promising for the development of applied research in the area.