Screening of Strobilanthes urticifolia Wall.ex Kuntze for Antitermite and Insecticidal Activities

Abstract

Leaves, stem, roots and flowers of this plant were extracted with methanol and fractionated with different solvents i.e., n-Hexane, Chloroform and Ethyl acetate. Screening of the individual extract and fractions showed that Strobilanthes urticifolia Wall.ex Kuntze has significant effects against termite and different insects. The extract and their fractions were evaluated against Odontotermes obesus, the test termite. Between the tested extracts, crude methanolic extract (CME) displayed the highest anti-termite potential (100% mortality on day 2) while aqueous fraction showed the lowest mortality rate (64% on day 3). CME and individual fractions were also tested against various insects. CME showed highest result (80%) in terms of mortality against Tribolium castenum, while n-hexane fraction showed moderate result (60%) in terms of mortality against Callosbrachus analis and all other fractions have no or low activity against tested insects. The results obtained from the experiments suggested the potential of Strobilanthes urticifolia in the control of termite and insects. Keywords: Strobilanthes urticifolia Wall.ex Kuntze, antitermite, insecticidal, CME, Fractions.