Phytochemical Screening of Selected Botanicals and their Effectiveness Against Maize Weevil (Sitophilus Zeamais Motsch.) at Paklihawa, Rupandehi, Nepal

Laboratory experiment was done to perform the phytochemical screening of six locally available botanicals (Azadirachta indica Juss, Artemisia dubia Wall, Lantana camara L, Parthenium hysterophorus L, Justicia adhatoda Linn. and Moringa oleifera L.) and their effectiveness to control the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch.) at Agriecology lab of Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Paklihawa Campus, Rupandehi, Nepal. Seven treatments (leaf extract of A. indica, A. dubia, L. camara, P. hysterophorus. J. adhatoda and M. oleifera and distilled water as control) applied at 3 different doses (0.5, 1 & 2g/50g seeds) were arranged in CRD design with 3 replications. Result of mortality test of maize weevil revealed that, at highest concentration of L. camara powder (T17- 2g/50 gm seeds) mortality of maize weevil was observed up to 85% at 45 DAT. Whereas number of damaged grain was lowest in T17 (L. camara powder- 2g/50 gm seeds). The effectiveness of botanicals was found to increase with increasing the concentration. Besides that, Justicia adhatoda (2g/50g seeds) and Artemisia dubia (1g/50g seeds) were also found as good candidates to use for the control of Sitophilus zeamais. Qualitative tests done for the presence of various phytochemicals showed that Azadirachta indica Juss and Artemisia dubia Wall. were found to contain most of the tested metabolites among all botanicals. Most of those phytochemicals were extracted by the aqueous solution rather than other 3 menstrums used (acetone, methanol and petroleum ether). Similarly, quantitative test revealed that percentage of alkaloid was found 18.01%, 17.78%, 17.75%, 11.58%, 8.20%, 6.78% and flavonoid15.32%, 13.63%, 12.86%, 11.36%, 7. 51% 2.85% respectively in L. camara L. P. hysterophorus L., J. adhatoda Linn., M. oleifera L., A. indica Juss. and A. dubia Wall. Leaf extract of L. camera found to contain highest botanicals extract reach in alkaloid and flavonoid mayhave insecticidal property and could be use as grain protectant percentage of alkaloid (18.01%) as well as flavonoid (15.32%) So, it was concluded that the locally available against the maize weevil at storage condition in cost effective and eco-friendly manner; however, application at proper dose is necessary to maintain the efficacy at higher level.

Chemical Profile and Biological Activities of Essential Oil from Flowers of Artemisia dubia Wall. ex Bess. Growing Wild in Western Himalaya, India

The flowers of Artemisia dubia wall ex Bess., on hydrodistillation provided a refreshing violet-blue viscous essential oil with sweet woody odour. The oil was found to be a complex mixture of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their esters. A total of 67 chemical constituents comprising 79.43 % of the oil were characterized with the help of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Major chemical constituents of the oil were characterized as nerylisovalerate (9.79 %), 1,8-cineole (8.32 %), neryl-2-methyl-butanoate (7.32 %), chamazulene (5.92 %), linalool (4.15 %), camphor (4.10 %), germacrene D (4.04 %), nerol (3.37 %), linalyl propionate (3.32 %). The investigations performed on the flower essential oil of A. dubia allowed the distinction of this plant growing in the temperate Kashmir region of western Himalayas from the same plant with different varieties growing in different parts of the world. The essential oil was evaluated for its antifungal activity against Candida species and was found to be active against the tested strains with more sensitivity against C. paropsilosis and C. krusei strains. The antioxidant activity evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay evidenced that the essential oil has moderate antioxidant activity. The antiproliferative ability of the oil was evaluated by MTT assay against the two cell lines A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells) and HCT-116 (human colon cancer cells). The essential oil effectively inhibits the growth of A549 and HCT-116 cancer cells at 62.5 and 31.25 μg/mL concentration, respectively.

In vitro molluscicidal activity of wormwood (Artemisia dubia) leaves against Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi

There have been many efforts to eradicate the problem of schistosomiasis. One method is to control the growing snail population. This study aimed to determine the molluscicidal activity of wormwood (Artemisia dubia)leaves methanolic extract against adult and juvenile. Using infusion technique, 80% methanol was used as solvent. There were eight treatments used: distilled water (T0(-)1) and 1% methanol (T0(-)2) as negative controls; 0.0002% (2mg/L) niclosamide (T0(+)) as positive control; and 11.121% (T1), 12.478% (T2), 14% (T3), 15.708% (T4) and 17.625% (T5), which were replicated five times with 10 snails per replicate. Results showed that for adults, the wormwood leaves methanolic extract was not statistically significant with the commercially available molluscicide, although 17.625% (T5) resulted in 82% mortality rate. For juveniles, the different extract concentrations resulted in 98 to 100% mortality, which were comparable to 0.0002% (2mg/L) niclosamide and were considered highly effective based on Reik & Keitz (1954) and European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA). Thus, wormwood leaves methanolic extract has a promising molluscicidal activity against adult snails at a concentration of 17.625%, and at all concentrations for the juvenile snails of O. hupensis quadrasi. The LC50 of the adult and juvenile snails were 14.075% and 10.294%, respectively. Secondary metabolites that were found positive during the qualitative phytochemical analysis with the extract were tannins, saponins, and terpenoids. The mortality of the snails can be attributed to the bioactivity of the secondary metabolites present that may be acting in combination or individually.

Anti-Nosemosis Activity of Aster scaber and Artemisia dubia Aqueous Extracts

In our previous study, we demonstrated that the ethanol extracts of Artemisia dubia (A. dubia) and Aster scaber (A. scaber) have anti-nosemosis activity. In our present study, we intend to establish the anti-nosemosis activity of aqueous, ethyl acetate (EA), and butanol (BuOH) extracts of A. dubia and A. scaber. In order to determine the optimal dose, we performed both in vitro and in vivo toxicity for all the extracts and also carried out anti-nosemosis experiments. Although all of the extracts (aqueous, EA, and BuOH) showed in vitro and in vivo anti-nosemosis activity in a dose-dependent manner, the aqueous extracts of A. dubia and A. scaber showed more potent anti-nosemosis activity than the EA and BuOH extracts. Moreover, an aqueous extract of A. dubia + A. scaber demonstrated stronger anti-nosemosis activity compared with the aqueous extracts of either A. dubia or A. scaber alone. Although the main ingredients in A. dubia and A. scaber remain unclear, our results suggest that the active components of A. dubia and A. scaber could dissolve in the aqueous fraction.

Allelopathic Influences of Artemisia Dubia Wall. Ex. Besser on Seed Germination and Seedling Vigor of Parthenium Hysterophorus L

Allelopathic effect of aqueous (leachate) and solvent extract (hexane, chloroform, methanol and water) of leaf, stem and root of donor plant Artemisia dubia was studied on germination and seedling vigour of Parthenium hysterophorus. Extraction and quantification of different parts in different solvent was done by percolation method. Bioassay was performed by allowing P. hysterophorus seed to germinate in Petri dishes (for solvent, aqueous) in laboratory condition against varied concentrations of prepared extracts of A. dubia. All the tested extract (aqueous, solvent) from different plant parts significantly checked the germination of P. hysterophorus in higher concentration with the effect being more pronounced from the leaf of A. dubia. Linear growth of root and shoot of P. hysterophorus was also checked significantly with increasing concentration of tested plant extract. The order of allelopathic influence was leaf > stem > root in all the cases and it was concentration dependent. Length of root was retarded while stem length experienced no effect, sometime elongation (stem and root extract of leachate, stem extract of hexane and chloroform). These results provide ample evidence that allelopathic potential exist in A. dubia and this can be exploited for the control of P.hysterophorus.Journal of Institute of Science and Technology Volume 22, Issue 2, January 2018, Page: 127-128