Phytochemistry and GC-MS Screening and Biocidal Potentiality of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Rhizome against Mosquito’s Larvae

Mosquitoes can act as vectors for many viruses and parasites through carrying these organisms from person to person. Although great number of natural products are lethal to mosquitoes, but few researches are conducted to understand the magnitude of the behavioral response to these plant parts. The objectives of this study were to screen the phytochemical and other chemical components from ginger rhizome in addition to test their aqueous and ethanol extracts on mosquito’s larvae. The standard methods, materials and devices were used to screen the phytochemical components and the chemical constituents (GC-MS). The aqueous and the ethanol extracts from clove pods were prepared and used against Anopheles, Culex and Aedes larvae. The results of the aqueous extract showed that, the LC50 was 153.77 mg/L for Anopheles larvae, 179.05 mg/L for Culex larvae, and 208.37 mg/L for Aedes larvae, also the ethanol extract of ginger rhizome was more potent than the aqueous extract. The biocidal activity can be attributed to the presence of saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids and steroids. The GC-MS for the hexane extract showed the presence of alkaloid: gingerol (18%) and eugenyl acetate- (19%) that gives the sweet aromatic, spicy taste, but the ethanol extract detected gingerol (43%) and zingiberene (14%). The obtained data will be useful to understand the mechanisms and reasons of biocidal activity of ginger rhizome against the tested mosquito’s larvae.