Study of phytochemical content, antioxidant and larvicidal property of different solvent extracts of Clerodendrum infortunatum and Citrus grandis

Abstract

The present study was carried out to investigate the phytochemical, antioxidant and larvicidal property of different solvent extracts of leaves of Clerodendrum infortunatum and fruit peel of Citrus grandis. The antioxidant property was studied by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), 1,1‑diphenyl‑2‑picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) assays. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts were estimated following standard protocols. Larvicidal activity of the plant extracts were evaluated following standard WHO protocol. In a series of test doses (100 to 2000 μg/mL), 20 numbers of Aedes aegypti larvae were exposed and the mortality was recorded after 24 h and LC50 were calculated. The study showed that the C. grandis extracts have better phytochemical, antioxidant and larvicidal activity compared to C. infortunatum. Among the four solvent fractions, diethyl ether extract showed higher activity in both the plants. The present study thus showed potential larvicidal property of the plants against A. aegypti. However, further characterization and identification of active compound (s) need to be carried out to study the exact mode of action.