Larvicidal activity of microparticles

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the larvicidal activity of essential oil (EO) microparticles of Melissa officinalis L. against Aedes aegypti. Leaves of M. officinalis were collected in the municipality of São José de Ribamar, Maranhão, Brazil, and then dried, crushed and milled. 90 g of dried leaves were used to obtain EO by the hydrodistillation method. All larvae showed mortality at all tested concentrations. The LC50 obtained for EO was 40.60 mg/L and for microparticles was 22.10 mg/L, both classified as active according to the criterion, but it was observed that microparticles increased the larvicidal potential of EO. From the results obtained, it is concluded that microparticles formulated with EO were effective against Aedes aegypti larvae.