Mosquitocidal susceptibility and non-target effects of essential oil from Brassica nigra WDJKoch seeds on immature stages of Aedes aegypti L., Anopheles stephensi Liston and Culex quinquefasciatus Say

Mosquito is a well-known insect belonging to the Culicidae family and is renowned for its global impact on infecting both animals and humans. The objective of the current research was to assess the effectiveness of essential oil (EO) from black mustard seeds in controlling Anopheles, Culex and Aedes mosquitoes. The results showed that the EO from black mustard seeds exhibited strong larvicidal, ovicidal and pupicidal effects against Aedes, Culex and Anopheles mosquito species. The tested EO produced 100 % mortality within 24 h in eggs of all the examined mosquito species. It also revealed strong larvicidal and pupicidal activity against Aedes (92 % and 84 %), Culex (96 % and 86 %) and Anopheles (98 % and 90 %) mosquitoes, respectively, at 24 h. Additionally, toxicity test and Suitability Index (SI) or Predator Safety Factor (PSF) revealed that the EO from mustard seeds had no harmful effects on non-target organisms (P. reticulata (predatory fish), D. indicus (water bug), G. affinis (predatory fish) and nymph (dragonfly larvae). The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of eight compounds, with 1-hexyl-2-nitrocyclohexane (48.57 %) and cyclopentadecanone, 2-methyl (22.68 %) identified as the major probable constituents of the EO, which might play a significant role in their mosquitocidal activity. The formulation prepared from the EO showed strong activity (100 %) against the eggs of all treated mosquitoes. Additionally, it exhibited promising activity against larvae and pupae with LC50 values of Aedes (23.2 and 26.5 ml/l), Culex (19.3 and 26.7 ml/l) and Anopheles (17.4 and 23.0 ml/l) mosquitoes. The toxicity study confirmed that both the EO and its formulation were not harmful to the tested nontarget organisms. Overall, our findings suggest that the EO from black mustard seeds could be effectively recommended for use in mosquito population control. (c) 2024 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.