Ethanolic extracts of Borago officinalis L. affect growth, development and energy reserve profile in the mosquito Culex pipiens Draouet Chaima1, Hamaidia Kaouther*, Brakni Amira1, Boutemedjet Soumia1, Soltani Noureddine2 Laboratory Sciences and Technical Water and Environment, Mohamed Cherif Messaadia University, Souk-Ahras, Algeria 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, Mohamed Cherif Messaadia University, Souk-Ahras, Algeria 2Laboratory of Applied Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Badji Mokhtar University, Annaba, Algeria, k.hemaidia@univsoukahras.dz *Corresponding author's E-mail: k.hemaidia@univ-soukahras.dz
Online published on 17 August, 2020. Abstract Ethanol extracts of leaves and flowers from Algerian Borago officinalis L. (Polemoniales: Boraginaceae) were evaluated against fourth instar larvae (L4) of Culex pipiens L. (Diptera: Culicidae). The larvicidal bioassay revealed that leaves extracts (LC50= 2.49%) exhibited higher activity than flowers extracts (LC50= 2.55%) against L4. Moreover, females were found more sensitive compared to males (sex-ratio was skewed towards males). On the other hand, the flower extract caused marked delayed effects on growth (decrease of female weight) and development (increase in duration of larval and pupal stages). The biochemical analyses showed a decrease in carbohydrate and lipid contents and an increase in protein levels in all tested stages (L4, pupa and adults male and female), with more significance in females. Top Keywords Borago officinalis, culex pipiens, development, growth, toxicity. Top |