Phytochemical analysis and insecticidal potential of Tinospora crispa (L.) Hook. f. & Thomson stem extract using Madagascar hissing cockroach

Abstract

The undesirable effects of repeated use of synthetic insecticides had led to the conceptualization of this study which aimed to evaluate the potential of Tinospora crispa (L.) Hook f. & Thomson (Panyawan) stem extract as insecticidal agent using Madagascar hissing cockroach as model. Thirty-six (36) female and thirty-six (36) male cockroaches were used in the study. Ethanol was used as extracting solvent, and the extract was concentrated following standard procedure. The crude extract was subjected to qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis. From the fresh extract, four concentrations (5%, 25%, 45%, and 65%) were prepared for the insecticidal assay. Results showed that T. crispa extract contains flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, phenolics and tannins. In addition, the concentrations of T. crispa extract used had caused 100% mortality after 21 hr and 24 min of observation for females and 17 hr and 36 min for males. The plant extract showed significant insecticidal potential at 0.05 level of significance. All the concentrations used showed insecticidal activity; however, the effect of the plant extract is concentration dependent. The knockdown time of the cockroaches significantly decreased as the concentration of the extract is increased. From the results, it can be inferred that T. crispa stem extract has an insecticidal effect against Madagascar hissing cockroach.