The larvicidal effect of Solanum tuberosum (green potato) peel extract on the mortality of Aedes larvae.

              Even after extensive development in the medical fields, mosquitoes still plague us as one of the most voracious disease causing agents. Millions of people die each year from malaria alone according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017). However resistance to control mechanisms threatens to derail what little control we have. It is imperative we find alternative substances that can control the mosquito population. This study was conducted to determine the larvicidal potential of green potato (Solanum tuberosum) peel extract on fourth instar Aedes larvae using the concentrations of 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5%. The study aimed to also determine the significant difference of the percent mortality of Aedes larvae among the experimental and control groups. The experiment consisted of 5 groups, three experimental and two control. The positive and negative control were Baygon spray and distilled water respectively. Twenty five larvae were plated per cup and 5 replicates were performed per group giving a total of 625 larvae. The research applied a completely randomized design (CRD) and was conducted in the Cebu Doctors' University Research Laboratory. Potatoes that showed signs of greening were bought at the local supermarket. The peels were removed and dried for 24 hours at room temperature. They were then chopped into small pieces and a soxhlet apparatus was used with ethanol as the solvent to perform the extraction. The solvent was then evaporated by the use of a rotary evaporator. The crude extract was diluted to obtain the necessary concentrations. Following data collection, the data was processed using IBM SPSS version 22.

          The study showed a mean mortality of 0.80%(±1.79), 5.60%(±2.19) and 8.00%(±5.66) for concentrations of 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5% respectively. The positive control had a mean mortality of 90.40% (±8.30) suggesting insecticidal resistance. There was a significant difference between the positive control and the 0.1% Green potato peel extract as well as positive control and negative control. Green potato peel extract does have larvicidal properties but the threshold concentration is postulated to be between 0.1% and 0.3%. Overall the extract was very potent, causing mortality at such low concentrations.

                The larvicidal effect was most likely due to the alkaloid compounds present in the peel. The data is consistent with previous studies conducted on Solanum tuberosum extracts. It is recommended to try higher concentration of the extract to find the diagnostic concentration. Further attempts to identify and isolate the larvicidal compound would also be beneficial.