Toxicity of Citrus Extracts Against Aedes albopictus

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes continue to be a major part of illness and death. Malaria, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever are important diseases vectored by mosquitoes. Dengue fever is becoming more and more vital public health concern in tropical and sub tropical world with Aedes albopictus as the core mosquito vector in this respect. Presently controlling this vector with habitat spraying remains an important option to minimize the incidence of dengue fever. However, the mishandling and/or overuse of synthetic chemicals in public health programs have caused many problems to human beings and environment as well. To lessen these problems, major consideration has been on the use of natural plant based products as larvicides which could provide alternatives to synthetic insecticides. Citrus is one of the most commonly consumed fruits with elements that have mosquitocidal properties and the oils from these are effective against dengue and malarial mosquitoes. This book, therefore, focuses on to evaluate the mosquitocidal properties of citrus waste-derived essential oils from various cultivars of citrus family (Rutaceae).