SUHA (CITRUS MAXIMA) LEAVES AS AN ALTERNATIVE MOSQUITO-KILLING SPRAY

Abstract

Mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, filariasis, Zika virus, malaria, and West Nile virus are well-recognized global health concerns. Synthetic insecticides have long been used as a control measure; however, they have been shown to pose risks to both environmental and human health. As an alternative, plant-based insecticides have been promoted because of their effectiveness in controlling insects while reducing the adverse effects associated with synthetic chemicals. Despite numerous studies utilizing different plants, no research has been identified that uses suha or pomelo (Citrus maxima) leaves as a plant-based insecticide, even though they are known to contain phytoconstituents with potential insecticidal properties. Thus, this study aimed to develop an alternative plant-based adult mosquito-killing spray derived from Citrus maxima leaf extracts. This study employed a true experimental research design to determine the efficacy of the plant-based mosquito-killing spray at different concentrations as the independent variable, measured by the number of adult mosquitoes that died after exposure as the dependent variable. A total of 100 adult mosquitoes were used in the experiment. Ethanolic extraction was conducted to obtain the Citrus maxima leaf extract. Mortality was observed for one hour in the control group using tap water, a commercially available insecticide, and test solutions with concentrations of 50% and 100% (pure extract). Statistical tools such as weighted mean, percentage, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to evaluate the gathered data. The alternative plant-based mosquito-killing spray utilizing pure Citrus maxima leaf extract exhibited higher efficacy compared to the commercially available insecticide. The pure extract demonstrated a higher mosquito mortality rate and a faster knockdown time. The alternative plant-based mosquito-killing spray derived from Citrus maxima leaves exhibited mosquitocidal activity against adult mosquitoes and was found to be comparable to commercially available insecticides. The study suggests that future research may explore the effectiveness of this extract on other insect species to broaden its potential applications.