REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Related Literature

A. Mosquito/Larvae

Mosquitoes are members of the Culicidae family of tiny, midge-like insects. Although
some species are innocuous or beneficial to people, the vast majority are a nuisance since they
feed on the blood of live animals, including humans. Various mosquito species transmit some of
the most dangerous human and animal illnesses by feeding on blood. According to some
authorities, mosquitoes are the most harmful creatures on the planet.

Below is the scientific classification of a mosquito.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Nematocera
Infraorder: Culicomorpha
Superfamily: Culicoidea
Family: Culicidae

Mosquito larvae have a well-developed head with mouth brushes used for feeding, a large
thorax with no legs, and a segmented abdomen.

Larvae breathe by spiracles on the ninth abdominal segment or through a siphon,

therefore they must surface regularly. The larvae spend most of their time in the surface
microlayer eating algae, bacteria, and other microorganisms. They only go below the surface
when they are disturbed. Larvae swim via propulsion with their mouth brushes or jerky motions
of their whole body, earning them the title "wigglers" or "wrigglers."

Larvae develop through four stages, or instars, after which they metamorphose into
pupae. At the end of each instar, the larvae moult, shedding their skins to allow for further
growth.

B. Marigold

Marigold or Tagetes is a genus of 56 species of annual and primarily perennial

herbaceous plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae or Compositae). The genus is native to
North and South America, but some species have become naturalised around the world. One
species, T. erecta, is considered a plant that has the ability to eradicate some variety of insect
larvae.

Marigold leaf has a musky, strong aroma, depending on the species, while certain
variations have been cultivated to be scentless. It is supposed to repel several common insect
pests as well as nematodes. As a result, Tagetes is frequently used as a companion plant for
tomato, eggplant, chili pepper, tobacco, and potato. Tagetes should not be grown near any
legume crop because of antibacterial thiophenes secreted by the roots.
 The florets of Tagetes erecta are rich in the orange-yellow carotenoid lutein and are used
as a food colour (INS-Number E161b) in the European Union for foods such as pasta, vegetable
oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, baked goods, confectionery, dairy products, ice
cream, yoghurt, citrus juice and mustard. In the United States, however, the powders and extracts
are only approved as colourants in poultry feed.

Scientific study shows that thiophenes, natural phytochemicals that include

sulfur-containing rings, maybe the active ingredients. They have been shown to kill
gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Simultaneous steam distillation extractions
(SSDE) volatiles isolated from the flower of the erecta species is believed to have
higher insecticidal activity. Ajaytao (2014 May 12). Eternal Beauty of Nature. Retrieved from
https://ajaytaobotanicalblog.wordpress.com

Since it has an insecticidal effect, it is hypothesized that the stem and leaf extracts can be
an effective larvicide against mosquitoes.

Below is the scientific classification of Marigold.

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asrerales
Family: Calenduleae
Genus: Calendula

Marigolds, Tagetes are useful intercrops in agriculture. Populations of Meloidogyne

nematodes have been reduced by intercropping marigolds. Other cultural applications of Tagetes
include the use of T. minuta leaves to repel mosquitoes and safari ants (Maradufu et al. 1978) in
Kenya.

Researchers have isolated several insecticidal compounds from Tagetes. Compounds

extracted from the leaves and flowers of T. minuta are toxic to Aedes aegypti larvae (Maradufu
et al. 1978 pp.24-28). Laboratory tests using polycetylenes from Asteraceae indicated that
α-terthienyl, a phototoxic thiophene from Tagetes, had an insecticidal property against A. aegypti
when combined with near-UV radiation (Arnason et al. 1981 pp. 64-68). Morallo-Rejesus &
Decena (1982) isolated a-terthieny and 5-(3-buten-1-ynyl)-2, 2-bithienyl as the active
insecticidal components from root extracts of T. erecta L. Thetopical Ldso of partially purified T.
erecta root extract was 8.1 mg/g for Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) and 4.3 mg/g for Tribolium
castaneum (Herbst) (Morallo-Rejesus and Decena 1982 pp. 56-58). Numerous studies have
evaluated the insecticidal properties of a-terthienyl and its analogs (Philogene et al. 1985, 1986;
Amason et al. 1986, 1988, 1989; Champagne et al. 1986; Evans et al. 1986; Hasspieler et al.
1988, 1990; Sen et al. 1990). The toxicokinetics of α-terthienyl were also examined for three
species of Lepidoptera (lyengar et al. 1987 pp.65-69). The topical LDso for Mancuda sexta (L.)
was 10 IJ-gIg, but for Heliothis virescens (F.) it was 470- IJ-gIgand for Ostrinia nubilalis
(Hiibner) the LDso was 700 IJ-g/g (lyengar et al. 1987 pp. 27-29.) This difference was likely
cause by more rapid clearance of the toxin by the more tolerant species which may have
preadapted rapid elimination of this toxin via evolutionary associations with the Asteraceae
(lyengar et al. 1987 pp. 28-30). This elimination was facilitated by higher levels of cytochrome
P450 in those species (lyengar et al. 1990 pp.28-30).
 Generally, the efficacy of a α-terthienyl against various mosquito larvae may also be
related to the limited evolutionary association between the compound and these insects, with the
oxidative mode of action (Hasspieler et al. 1990 pp.34-36) being enhanced by the lack of facile
or rapid detoxification. This suggests that other naïve insects, such as stored-product pests, may
be susceptible to these compounds. Many stored-product pests were (and probably still are)
either fossorial, litter-decomposing species or specialists on the seeds of plants in the
Leguminoseae and Graminaceae families before synanthropic association. Thus, they could be
susceptible to compounds evolved against the herbivory of tissues of other plant groups. Our
objective was to evaluate tissue extracts of T. minuta against Mexican weevils, Zabrotes
subfasciatus (Boheman), a sexually dimorphic bruchid of economic importance throughout the
world. We are also concerned with the production of “insecticidal crops” by developing countries
as an alternative to synthetic insecticides. Tagetes spp. Has been proposed as an insecticidal crop
to provide a locally available source of α-terthienyl for mosquito control in developing countries
(Amason et al. 1981 72-73). However, in practice, potential insecticidal crops, such as T. minuta,
should be fully utilized, rather than simply serving as a source of a single chemical component.
The efficacy of extracted material from all tissues should be determined so that the entire plant
can be used, if possible.

Essential oil from Tagetes erecta against Mosquito obtains compounds piperitone
(45.72%), D-limonene (9.67%), and piperitenone (5.89%) that are active against larvae of Ae.
aegypti, with LC50 of 79.78 microg/ml and LC90 of 100.84 microg/ml. The larvicidal thiophene
contents were higher in the roots and flowers as demonstrated by high-performance liquid
chromatography analysis. Thus, T. erecta constitutes a good source of varied compounds
showing larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti. John Wiley & Sons (2008). Studies on the
antioxidant and analgesic activities of Aztec marigold (Tagetes erecta) flowers. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov