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Int. J. Agric.Sc & Vet.Med. 2016

Bindu Lakshmanan et al., 2016

ISSN 2320-3730 www.ijasvm.com
Vol. 4, No. 1, February 2016
2016 www.ijasvm.com. All Rights Reserved

Research Paper

COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF CERTAIN PLANT

EXTRACTS AGAINST MENOPON GALLINAE AND
LIPEURUS CAPONIS
Bindu Lakshmanan1*, Radhika Rajagopal1, Gleeja V L2 and Hariharan Subramanian3

*Corresponding Author: Bindu Lakshmanan, bindul@kvasu.ac.in

Kerala has rich ethnobotanical background and herbal medicines have stood the test of time for
their safety, efficacy, cultural acceptability and lesser side effects. Nevertheless, topical
insecticides remain the mainstay of control of lousiness in livestock and poultry and this has led
to several problems including the development of resistance, toxic manifestations in animals
and birds, and concerns of residues in milk, meat as well as environment. Preliminary in vitro
trials were conducted to assess the comparative efficacy of Lantana camara, Calotropis gigantea
and Allium sativum against poultry lice by adopting filter paper protocol. The lice selected for the
study were recovered from heavy natural infestation from backyard chicken. They were
morphologically identified as Menopon gallinae and Lipeurus caponis. The trials proved the
significantly high lousicidal property of ethanolic extracts of C. gigantea and A. sativum at 5%
concentration in 24 hour incubation period. The lousicidal effect of L. camara as evidenced at
10% concentration after 48 hour incubation period was significantly lower than other two plant
extracts with the same treatment. This seems to indicate that extracts from A. sativum bulbs
and C. gigantea possess better lousicidal properties than L. camara which were directly
proportionate to the concentration. The results are encouraging and provide scientific validation
of the efficacy of C. gigantea and A. sativum against Menopon gallinae and Lipeuris caponis.
Knowledge of plants with insecticidal properties, their toxic principles and biological activity is of
utmost importance not only to replace toxic chemicals but also to unravel their effects in lesser
known species.
Keywords: Lantana camara, Calotropis gigantea, Allium sativum, Poultry louse

INTRODUCTION

the propagation of ectoparasite in domestic

animals. Problems of ectoparasites have been

Kerala has ecologically optimum conditions for

1

Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, Thrissur
680651.

Department of Statistics, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, Thrissur 680651.

Former Professor and Finance Officer, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Wayanad.

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Int. J. Agric.Sc & Vet.Med. 2016

Bindu Lakshmanan et al., 2016

quite alarming leading to enormous economic

losses by affecting production, causing
enumerable skin diseases and transmission of
infectious diseases (Panda and Mishra, 1997).
Among ectoparasites, tick, mites and lice
infestation produce immense productivity loss by
direct biting injury and also through their disease
transmission capability. Lice are permanent
ectoparasites that constitute a very large group
of more than three hundred species. They cause
intense irritation to the skin, stimulate rubbing or
licking leading to restlessness, reduced weight
gain and reduced production in domestic livestock
and poultry. Poultry lice were always a menace
to not only intensive and backyard system of
poultry rearing but also to the booming pet bird
industry. The current practice of treatment and
control is mainly by the use of synthetic
insecticides which has far reaching effects on
toxicity as well as drug resistance. Considering
the economics of ectoparasite infestation, toxicity
of synthetic pesticides, emerging resistance
problems and growing concern for environment,
increased attention need be diverted towards
designing safe eco-friendly, cheap and yet
alternative methods of control (Nadkarni, 1976).
Natural substances of plant origin constituted an
important segment of these alternative
approaches. Over 2000 plant species have been
reported to possess insecticidal activity and only
a fraction of them are analysed (Subramaniam
and Kaushik, 2014). Ponnudurai et al. (2007) has
recorded 100 per cent reduction of bird louse
treated with herbal formulation containing
Azadirecta indica, Cadrus deodara, Brassica
compestris and Ocimum sanctum. Allium
sativum (garlic), a member of family Alliaceae has
been shown to possess arthropocidal properties
(Stjernberg and Berglund, 2000; and Jarial, 2001).
The ectoparasiticidal effects of a number of such

ethnobotanicals readily available in Kerala need

scientific validation through preliminary in vitro
trials followed by clinical validation. Hence a study
was designed to evaluate the comparative
efficacy of Lantana camara, Calotropis gigantea
and Allium sativum against poultry lice collected
during natural infestation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cold Extraction Process
Leaves of L. camara (LC), C. gigantea (CG)and
bulbs of A. sativum (ALS), were used for the
study. All were shade dried and powdered in
electric grinder. Ethanolic extracts were prepared
from approximately 200 g of the grated material
using the extraction technique described by
Azhahianambi et al. (2004) with some
modifications. Briefly, the gratings were
macerated in rectified spirit @200 g/L, in a closed
container for 24 h with intermittent vigorous mixing.
The supernatant was collected in large petridishes
and the alcohol was allowed to evaporate. The
residues obtained after evaporation were used
for in vitro assays at different concentrations.
Different concentrations of the extracts viz., 5%
and 10% were prepared using one per cent
aqueous Tween 80 (v/v) as the solvent. The same
served as control for comparison of extract
activity. The activity was tested against the poultry
louse.

Invitro Lousicidal Activity

The lice were collected from natural infestations
in backyard chicken, identified morphologically
(Soulsby, 1982) and were maintained in humidity
chamber (ROTEK) at ambient conditions with
temperature of 28 C and relative humidity of 80%.
Filter paper method was adopted for testing the
efficacy of different extracts as described by
Nalamvar et al. (2009). The extracts were poured

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Int. J. Agric.Sc & Vet.Med. 2016

Bindu Lakshmanan et al., 2016

percentage of adult ticks increased as the

concentration of herbal extracts increased and
as the time interval progressed. Nchu et al.
(2005), evaluating the toxic effects of extracts of
A. sativum bulbs on adults of Hyalomma and
Rhipicephalus sp of ticks concluded that ethanolic
extracts caused mortality of adult ticks after 24
hours of exposure while dichloromethane extracts
caused mortality in less than an hour. Nalamwar
et al. (2009) inferred that Acorus calamus
rhizomes contain certain constituents responsible
for mortality of Damalinia caprae, the goat louse.
Preliminary investigations on lousicidal activity of
A. sativum extracts against D. caprae infestation
in goats were promising (Bindu Lakshmanan
et al., 2013). Subramanian and Kaushik (2014)
had demonstrated the insecticidal properties of
A. sativum against flies of the genera Musca and
Aedes. Birrenkott et al. (2000) reported that
topical application of garlic reduced northern mite
infestation in laying hens. Even though, Dua
et al. (2010) had established the adulticidal activity
of essential oils of L. camara against adult Culex
and Aedes spp of mosquitoes, we found that
ethanolic extracts of LC had significantly lower
insecticidal property against adult lice. The results
of this study also suggested the potent lousicidal
efficacy of C. gigantea (Erukku) and A. sativum
(garlic) against M. gallinae and L. caponis of
poultry. This would improve the chances of
appropriate selection of the herbal
ectoparasiticidal agent, either alone or in
combination since the treatment so far adopted
was the application of different classes of
chemical insecticides.

on to Whatman No. 1 filter paper and allowed to

dry. The dried filter papers were placed on different
labeled Petri dishes. Thirty lice each were selected
randomly and placed in these Petri dishes, which
were then maintained in a humidity chamber at a
temperature of 28 C and relative humidity of 80%
and checked for number of live lice after definite
time interval of 4 hours. The number of dead lice
were recorded for each concentration of the
extracts and compared with that of control. Three
replicates were tested for each treatment. The
results were statistically analysed using
Chisquare test for multiple proportion.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The lice were morphologically identified as
Menopon gallinae and Lipeurus caponis. The lice
were periodically examined for their livability under
a stereozoom microscope. The number of dead
louse were recorded and taken as the indicator
of insecticidal property of the selected extracts.
Similar results were observed for both the
species. The results of filter paper method using
the ethanolic extract of the plants are shown in
table
All the lice were found live after 24 hour post
exposure. At 24 hour exposure, CG and ALS were
shown to possess statistically similar insecticidal
activity at 5% concentration. At 48 hour post
exposure, CG and ALS were found to exhibit the
best insecticidal activity as evident from 100%
lice mortality. At 10% dilution also CG and ALS
exhibited significantly higher activity when
compared to LC. This seems to indicate that
extracts from A. sativum bulbs and C. gigantea
possess better lousicidal properties than
L.camara which were directly proportionate to the
concentration. The results also concur with that
of Kumar et al. (2011) who reported that mortality

CONCLUSION
The results of the present study directed towards
comparative evaluation of insecticidal properties
of locally available ethnobotanical extracts

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Int. J. Agric.Sc & Vet.Med. 2016

Bindu Lakshmanan et al., 2016

5. Jarial M S (2001), Toxic Effect of Garlic

Extracts on the Eggs of Aedes Aegypti
(Diptera: Culicidae): A Scanning Electron
Microscope Study, J. Med. Entomol.,
Vol. 38, pp. 446-450.

revealed the potent lousicidal activity of C.

gigantea and A. sativum against the common
species of poultry louse. It was also shown that
L. camara is less effective when compared to
the other two extracts. However, further studies
are needed to identify the active components in

6. Kumar A, Singh S, Mahour K and Vihan V S

(2011), In Vitro and in Vivo Acaricidal Activity
of Some Indigenous Plants Under Organised
and Farmer Flock, Pharmacology Online,
Vol. 3, pp. 361-369.

the Erukku and garlic extract responsible for this

activity. Besides, in vivo studies using suitable
formulations against different types of infestations
are to be considered to exploit their insecticidal
properties.

7. Nadkarni A K and Nadkarni K M (1976),

Indian Materia Medica, Popular
Prakashan Bombay, Vol. 3, Vol. 1, pp. 263,
269 and 1292.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors acknowledge the financial support
of Animal Husbandry Department, Govt. of Kerala

8. Nalamwar V P, Khadabadi S S, Aswar P B,

Kosalge S B and Rajurkar R M (2009), In
Vitro Licicidal Activity of Different Extracts of
Acorus Calamus Linn. (Araceae) Rhizome,
Int. J. Pharm. Tech. Res., Vol. 1, pp. 96-100.

for funding the project.

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APPENDIX
Table: Mortality of Poultry Louse (No. Dead) Under Study

5%

10%

12 h

24 h

48 h

12 h

24 h

48 h

Control

Calotropis gigantea (CG)

25*

30*

24*

30*

Allium sativum (ALS)

30*

30*

25*

30*

Lantana camara (LC)

18

12

22

Note: * Significant at 0.05% level.

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