12th International Conference of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Brazil has faced epidemics of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito, especially Dengue. Mosquito control is the most effective way to control disease. Natural products have been evaluated for this application. Studies showed that essential oils have volatile substances naturally degraded in the environment and low mammalian toxicity. In this study we use the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum leaves to combat the larval stage of mosquito. The chemical identification of the essential oil of basil was performed by the GC-MS technique, in which estragole was identified as the major component, followed by linalool. The toxic action against L3 stage mosquito larvae, based on WHO guidelines 2005, was evaluated for essential oil and estragole. The results showed that both are potentially applicable as larvicides to control dengue mosquito. Being an edible plant species, it becomes a promising alternative to synthetic chemical insecticides potentially toxic to humans and ecosystems used today.