Bioactivity Evaluation of Plant Extracts Used in Indigenous Medicine against the Snail, Biomphalaria glabrata, and the Larvae of Aedes aegypti

This investigation examined the molluscicidal and larvicidal activity of eight plants that are used in the traditional medicine of the Pankararé indigenous people in the Raso da Catarina region, Bahia state, Brazil. The tested plants were chosen based on the results of previous studies. Only those plants that were used either as insect repellents or to treat intestinal parasitic infections were included in the study. Crude extracts (CEs) of these plants were tested for their larvicidal activity (against Aedes aegypti larvae in the fourth instar) and molluscicidal activity (against the snail Biomphalaria glabrata). The plant species Scoparia dulcis and Helicteres velutina exhibited the best larvicidal activities (LC(50) 83.426 mg/L and LC(50) 138.896 mg/L, resp.), and Poincianella pyramidalis, Chenopodium ambrosoides, and Mimosa tenuiflora presented the best molluscicidal activities (LC(50) 0.94 mg/L, LC(50) 13.51 mg/L, and LC(50) 20.22 mg/L, resp.). As we used crude extracts as the tested materials, further study is warranted to isolate and purify the most active compounds.