Larvicidal and Adulticidal Activity of Essential Oils from Four Cuban Plants against Three Mosquito Vector Species

Mosquitoes are one of the main vectors of many important diseases and their degree of resistance to chemical insecticides has increased. Nowadays, it has become crucial to identify novel plant larvicides with an eco-friendly impact. The components of essential oils from Jacq. (EO-Cl), L. (EO-Li), var. M. Gómez. (EO-Os), and Griseb. (syn. subsp. (Griseb.) Reynel (EO-Zp) were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Larvicidal and adulticidal bioassays against , and , were performed according to the World Health Organization standard methods. A high diversity of compounds was identified in the four oils, with a total of 152 compounds (33-70 components). EO-Cl, EO-Li, and EO-Os were classified as active against both insect forms, larvae and adults. showed the best results, with LC values from 33.8 to 41.7 mg/L. In most of the cases, it was not possible to associate the main compounds with the measured activity, supporting the hypothesis about probable synergistic interactions among major and minor compounds. The results indicate EO-Cl, EO-Os, and EO-Li as good eco-friendly insecticides with potential.