The insecticidal effect of acetogenin extract from Annona muricata (Guyabano) seeds on Blatta lateralis (Turkestan cockroaches).

This study entitled "The Insecticidal effect of Acetogenin extract from Annona muricata (Guyabano) seeds on Blatta lateralis (Turkestan cockroaches)" sought to determine the insecticidal effect of the Acetogenin extract of Annona muricata seeds on Turkestan cockroaches using a post-test only control group design. The study consisted of 135 verified Turkestan cockroaches which were randomly divided into three groups, where each group had 45 cockroaches and were further divided into three trials. The study was conducted in room 423, the Pharmaceutical Laboratory of Cebu Doctors' University. After the acclimatization of the test subjects for fourteen days at normal room temperature, the three groups were then treated with the following solutions: The positive control group was sprayed three times with Propoxur (Baygon); the Experimental group was sprayed 3 times with Acetogenin extract, which was obtained after simultaneous maceration from three solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethyl alcohol); and the Negative control group was sprayed 3 times with distilled water.

The Percent Mortality of Turkestan cockroaches among the three groups four hours after treatment varied. It showed that the Positive control group and the Negative control group resulted to the expected mortality (%) of 100% and 0% respectively while the Experimental group resulted in mortality (%) of 71.1%. The results showed that Propoxur (Bayggon) had the highest mortality (%) having all cockroaches dead, whereas the negative group, which distilled water was used, resulted in no number of deaths. The result of the Experimental group mortality (%) implicates that not all cockroaches died. Although the mortality (%) of the Experimental group showed a slight distinction with the Positive control group, the Acetogenin extract was regarded to have an insecticidal effect since above 50% of percent insecticidal activity is considered effective. Also, it is evident that the mortality (%) of the Experimental treatment is of great distinction as to the Negative control group which has no insecticidal effect at all. The mortality (%) after treatment were analyzed by Chi-Square test of proportion which revealed that overall; there was a significant difference in the proportion across the groups with a p-value of 0.000 to the three groups at a 0.05 alpha level of significance.

Therefore, the insecticidal effect of Acetogenin extract from Annona muricata (Guyabano) seeds is proven to be effective against Blatta lateralis (Turkestan cockroaches). The researchers would like to recommend future researchers to conduct further study on the toxicity of Acetogenin extract and its effect on other specific insects.