Larvicide Activity on Aedes aegypti of Essential Oil Nanoemulsion from the Protium heptaphyllum Resin

Abstract

The aim of this work was to prepare a nanoemulsion containing the essential oil of <i>Protium heptaphyllum</i> resin and to evaluate the larvicidal activity and the residual larvicidal effect against <i>Aedes aegypti.</i> The essential oil was identified by gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer, and the nanoemulsions were prepared using a low-energy method and characterized by photon correlation spectroscopy. The results indicated the major constituents as <i>p</i>-cimene (27.70%) and α-Pinene (22.31%). Nanoemulsions had kinetic stability and a monomodal distribution in a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of 14 with particle diameters of 115.56 ± 1.68 nn and zeta potential of -29.63 ± 3.46 mV. The nanoemulsion showed larvicidal action with LC₅₀ = 2.91 µg∙mL^-1 and residual larvicidal effect for 72 h after application to <i>A. aegypti</i> larvae. Consequently, the nanobiotechnological product derived from the essential oil of <i>P. heptaphyllum</i> resin could be used against infectious disease vectors.